The Death Penalty Protects No One
Marking World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, The Advocates launched another groundbreaking initiative. Just hours after the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) filed a request for an advisory opinion with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights declaring that the death penalty is incompatible with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, The Advocates announced its own amicus brief in support of the request.
The brief, prepared by a pro bono team at Foley Hoag LLP, connects the World Day theme—The Death Penalty Protects No One—with the litigation. It demonstrates that because the death penalty has no unique deterrent effect on crime, it does not further any penological interests and therefore is disproportionate to the benefit it seeks to achieve and constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life under Article 4 of the African Charter.
In a kickoff webinar, PALU member and African Court expert Tito Magoti explained the advisory opinion process and the influence of amicus briefs. Foley Hoag partner Chris Hart outlined the brief’s arguments, and Amy Bergquist announced plans to recruit Coalition members in Africa to join as amici.
“The African continent will soon follow Europe’s lead in rejecting the death penalty,” Bergquist explains. “Over the past three years, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Zambia have joined the abolitionist ranks, and Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi are on deck. PALU’s litigation is the catalyst we need to accelerate the momentum, and we know our amicus brief will bolster their case.”
