What is the death penalty ?
The death penalty, also called capital punishment, is a judicial sanction consisting of executing a person found guilty of a serious crime, often referred to as a capital offense. This practice, inherited from history, aims to punish the most serious offenses, such as murder or acts considered to seriously threaten social order, according to the laws of certain countries.
Moreover, methods of execution, such as hanging, lethal injection, shooting or electrocution, are often inhumane and marked by physical and psychological suffering, not only for the condemned, but also for their families and sometimes the executioners themselves.
Around the world, the death penalty is increasingly being rejected. Today, more than 140 countries have abolished it in law or practice, reflecting a shift towards more humane and rights-respecting justice systems.
Fighting against the death penalty means defending human dignity and rejecting a justice system based on violence. This is why organisations like ACAT Luxembourg are campaigning for its universal and definitive abolition.
What is the link between torture and the death penalty ?
Torture and the death penalty, although distinct, are often closely linked, as they share mechanisms, contexts and consequences that profoundly violate human rights and dignity. Here are the main links that unite them:
1. Torture in the judicial process
In many countries, torture is used to obtain confessions or information to sentence individuals to death.
2. Psychological suffering linked to the death penalty
The death penalty is itself a form of psychological torture. Those sentenced to death endure an unbearable wait, sometimes for years, on what is known as "death row". This constant uncertainty about the date and manner of their execution causes intense mental suffering, amounting to a form of prolonged torture.
3. Often cruel execution practices
Execution methods, such as hanging, lethal injection or electrocution, often involve extreme physical and psychological suffering.
4. A common attack on human dignity
Torture and the death penalty share a fundamental commonality: they deny the inherent dignity of every human being.
5. A common fight to abolish them
The fight against torture and the death penalty is an inseparable process. Both practices are prohibited by international law, but their abolition requires constant vigilance in the face of judicial, political and social abuses.
By defending victims of torture, organisations like ACAT Luxembourg are also part of the fight against the death penalty, because the two practices reinforce each other in systems where human rights are weak.
What is torture ?
Torture is an intentional act inflicted on a person with the intent to cause severe pain or suffering, whether physical or psychological. It is often used to obtain information, extract confessions, punish, intimidate or discriminate. It is usually committed by agents of the state or with their tacit consent, in a context where power is abused.
Torture is not limited to physical abuse such as beatings, burning or mutilation. It also includes forms of psychological violence such as prolonged isolation, threats, humiliation or sensory and sleep deprivation.
Considered one of the worst violations of human rights, torture is prohibited by international law , notably by the United Nations Convention against Torture adopted in 1984. This prohibition is absolute: it cannot be justified under any circumstances, even in times of war, political instability or the fight against terrorism.
Beyond the suffering inflicted on the individual, torture destroys families, traumatizes communities and erodes the fundamental values of human dignity. This is why organizations like ACAT Luxembourg are actively committed to its abolition throughout the world.
Torture has no place in a humane and just society.