We must never go back to this punishment

ASYOU read this, it is likely that somewhere in the world, at least one person is being executed. News on Monday that a court in Egypt had handed down a mass death sentence condemning 529 people to die was rightly greeted with worldwide outrage. Amnesty International says this is the largest single batch of simultaneous death sentences they’ve seen anywhere in the world in recent years.

Two weeks ago, the case of Glenn Ford in the USA, a man released after nearly 30 years on death row, made headlines around the world. AnAfrican-American convicted by an all-white jury of killing a white shop owner, Ford suffered a catalogue of legal failings. No murder weapon was ever identified, dubious “expert” witnesses were used, and Ford’s main lawyer had never been involved in a jury trial before.

Ford is a harrowing example of why the death penalty is never the answer. He was the 144th exonerated prisoner to be released from death row in the USA since 1973; proof that the death sentence always carries the risk of executing an innocent person.

The last execution in Scotland took place more than 50 years ago. Since then, we have progressed immeasurably in our respect and protection of human rights at home, but it is vital that we continue to call on other countries to respect the human rights of their citizens.

This week, Amnesty International publishes its annual global report on the death penalty. The figures for 2013 make for difficult reading – 778 people were put to death last year, and that is just officially reported executions.

Encouragingly, the trend continues toward the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, despite Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria andVietnam choosing to resume executions last year. The number of executions in the USA continued to decrease and Maryland became the 18th US state to abolish the death penalty.

The numbers inAmnesty’s report exclude the thousands of people executed in China, where the death penalty is considered a state secret – a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a country where freedom of information is the rule rather than the exception.

SaudiArabia also distorts how many people are executed. Amnesty has evidence of at least one secret execution last year and in some cases families are not notified when their relatives have been executed.

Horrific executions are often carried out in public: fiveYemeni men were beheaded and “crucified”. In SaudiArabia, beheading, firing squad and even crucifixion are common methods.

The atrocities do not end there. SaudiArabia executed individuals for crimes they allegedly committed while under the age of 18. In January, 17-year-old Sri Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafeek was beheaded. When she was 17, she allegedly killed an infant in her care. She had no access to lawyers either before or during her trial.

Thousands of Scots have joinedAmnesty International’s campaign which seeks to eradicate the death penalty worldwide. In the time it has taken you to read this article, at least one person has been executed.

Jenny Marra, MSP for North-East Scotland