Executions at 10-year high after huge increases in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia
GuardianAPR 4
Report: Global Executions Hits 9-Year High, Led by Middle East
Above: Amnesty International offices in Hong Kong on Oct. 25, 2021. Image copyright: Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
The death penalty remains a necessary tool for maintaining public order and punishing the most serious crimes, especially those of such severity that no other form of punishment is suitable. It's an act of simple justice that prevents recidivism, closes the cycle of violence, and allows society to move on.
Narrative B
Capital punishment is a barbaric practice with no place in today's world. Not only is it the ultimate denial of a person's inalienable human rights, but it also fails to deter crime and disproportionately impacts disadvantaged groups while being increasingly weaponized in tyrannical states against political dissidents and minorities.