Executions of protesters and others in Iran continue. Send a letter to President Biden to urge him to more aggressively support efforts to halt executions in Iran and elsewhere, worldwide.

NOTE: If you live outside the US and do not have a US address, please click here to sign the petition instead.  

BACKGROUND:

(Death Penalty Action has a primary focus on stopping executions in the United States. Find leadership and deeper information about executions in Iran here and here, and internationally, here.)

At this time when executions are on the rise in countries like Iran, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia, including executions of people accused of participation in nonviolent protests against injustice in their countries, it is imperative that the United States distance itself from such practices. The United States appears on a list with countries executing their own people following show trials using confessions elicited under torture. (Despite the nuance, the death penalty in the US is also a disgusting violation of human rights.)

President Biden has articulated a position advocating for the abolition of the federal death penalty in the United States. His campaign web page supported measures aimed at reducing and eliminating the use of capital punishment at the state level. We remain hopeful of such leadership.

However, on December 15, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution with an overwhelming vote, 125-37-22, calling for a “Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty.”  The United States shamefully voted "NO." Click here to read the justification for the vote by the US Mission to the UN, which are absurd excuses given the fact that all Human Rights instruments are rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
• Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

This action is about the international issue, but please also join us in calling upon President Biden to lead by example by ending the federal and military death penalty in the United States while supporting all possible measures aimed at halting executions anywhere in the world.  

NOTE: If you live outside the US and do not have a US address, please click here to sign the petition instead.