5 Organizations Fighting For The Rights Of Those On Death Row
- Amnesty International
- The Innocence Project
- National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
There are many prominent regional, national and international organizations helping death row inmates. Anyone who is concerned about the death penalty wants to set free those who are innocent, desires to abolish it forever or has clients facing this punishment may wish to align with and support these organizations. Here are some of the most impactful.
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1. Amnesty International
Amnesty International works to protect human rights in nearly every country across the globe. They campaign for many human rights issues, of which the death penalty is just one. They oppose capital punishment in all cases, believing it to be the ultimate violation of human rights. They build campaigns around cases of specific prisoners who appear to be innocent or have received unfair trials. They also work to send hope to death row inmates, especially ones in countries where someone is on death row for being a political opponent of a totalitarian regime or exercising free speech.
2. The Innocence Project
The Innocence Project is an organization that seeks to end wrongful convictions and set free death row inmates who are proven to be innocent. This is usually done with new evidence that was not available at the time of a prisoner’s trial, usually DNA evidence. They don’t only work with death row inmates, although those are among their most high profile and high stakes cases. The organization also works to reform the judicial system to prevent future injustice from occurring.
3. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is the oldest organization in the United States dedicated solely to ending the death penalty. Their reasons for this pursuit involve the high cost to taxpayers, the lack of evidence that it serves as a deterrent, significant racial bias and the fact that it is by nature an irreversible punishment. They work with many local and regional organizations to fight for justice for the wrongly convicted or those who were handed harsher sentences because of their race.
4. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
The American Civil Liberties Union, more commonly known as the ACLU, fights for the civil liberties of Americans in a wide range of areas, including free speech, the rights of the disabled, the rights of immigrants and the rights of LGBT, among others. Their work with death row inmates is just some of the work they do, although they are one of the largest organizations helping death row inmates. The ACLU focuses on legal challenges to capital punishment cases, particularly ones where race appears to have been a deciding factor or a prisoner’s civil rights have been violated.
5. Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
It is not only those of a more liberal persuasion who are working to help death row inmates. Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a national organization that focuses on outreach to conservative and libertarian groups regarding the use of capital punishment. Their reasoning may include how the death penalty goes against the beliefs of most major religions, is financially costly, carries the risks of executing the innocent and involves the government imposing its will on the lives of its citizens, among others.
The death penalty continues to be a controversial subject both in the United States and abroad. These organizations helping death row inmates are attempting to clear up the issue.
