RESOURCES
Materials to help support your advocacy.
Death Penalty by Country
• Retentionist countries (n=58)
• Abolitionist countries except when for exceptional circumstances (n=6)
• Abolitionist in practice - no executions in the last 10 years (n=34)
• Completely abolished (102)
View in table format at the Death Penalty Information Center
Downloadable Resources
HUMANIZING LANGUAGE
Use this guide to reflect the dignity of all people
DEATH PENALTY FACTS
from the Death Penalty Information Center
GEORGIA RESOURCE LIST
Organizations recommended by the Georgia Innocence Project
Video & Documentary Resources
THERE WILL BE NO STAY - FULL FEATURE FILM
Two executioners' lives intersect on a path to discovering freedom from their own personal prisons.
WE ARE TROY DAVIS
A decade after Troy Davis's execution, his case continues to galvanize the movement to end the death penalty in Georgia and beyond.
DEATH PENALTY STORIES
For powerful accounts of how the death penalty impacts lives around the world, watch Amnesty International’s animated slideshow, “Death Penalty Stories,” narrated by Colin Firth.
Glossary of Terms
Common terms associated with the death penalty
Abolitionist – A person, group or state that opposes the death penalty.
Abolitionist in Practice – A country that retains the death penalty in law, but has not executed anyone for at least 10 years and is believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.
Capital Crime/Capital Offense – A crime punishable by death.
Capital Punishment – Another term for the death penalty; the legal imposition of death as a penalty for a crime.
Clemency – An act of mercy by a government official (often a governor or president) that may commute a death sentence, or grant a reprieve or pardon.
Commutation – The reduction of a sentence, such as changing a death sentence to life imprisonment.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment – A punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; often cited in arguments against the death penalty.
Death Row – A prison block or section reserved for inmates sentenced to death.
Deterrence – The theory that the threat or application of punishment will prevent others from committing similar crimes.
Exoneration – The official absolution of someone from blame; in the death penalty context, when a convicted person is later proven to be innocent.
Execution – The act of putting a person to death by the state as punishment for a crime.
Extrajudicial Execution – The killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process.
Firing Squad – A method of execution involving shooting by a group of marksmen; still legal in a few jurisdictions.
Habeas Corpus – A legal action or writ by which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment, including challenging a death sentence.
Lethal Injection – The most common method of execution in the United States today, typically involving a three-drug protocol.
Mandatory Death Sentence – A law that requires the death penalty to be imposed for certain crimes, regardless of mitigating circumstances; widely regarded as a human rights violation.
Mercy Petition – A request for clemency submitted by a condemned prisoner to the head of state.
Mitigating Factors – Circumstances that may lessen the severity of the sentence, such as the defendant's background, mental health, or lack of intent to kill.
Moratorium – A temporary suspension of executions, often enacted while the death penalty system is reviewed or challenged.
Pardon – A formal forgiveness of a crime, which may lead to release from punishment.
Proportionality – A legal principle that the severity of the punishment should match the gravity of the crime; often cited in challenges to the use of the death penalty.
Public Defender – A lawyer appointed by the court to represent a defendant who cannot afford an attorney, including in capital cases.
Recidivism – The tendency of a person convicted of a crime to reoffend; used in discussions of criminal justice policy, including capital punishment.
Reprieve – A temporary delay of punishment, often used to allow time for further appeals or clemency consideration.
Retentionist – A country or jurisdiction that still practices the death penalty.
Stay of Execution – A court order to temporarily suspend an execution, typically to allow for additional appeals.
Torture – The infliction of severe physical or mental pain, often cited in cases where execution methods or death row conditions are challenged.
Wrongful Conviction – The conviction of an innocent person, a major concern in capital punishment debates.
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