113 people have been exonerated since executions began again in the US in 1977

the US Supreme Court has said in Herrera v Collins that it is Constitutional to execute an innocent person as long as he has had a fair trial!!!!

Many states execute people who were 16 years old at the time of the crime. This is against international law.

The death penalty is racist – in 80% of death penalty cases the victim is white but only 50% of murder victims are white

The death penalty in the US is like a state lottery – 740 executions since 1976 have been in the South ( 409 of these in Texas and Virginia alone)159 in all the North

The Death penalty is not a deterrent. Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976. The number of murders in Canada in 2001 was 23% lower in 2001 than it was in 1975Europe has no death penalty Here are the murder rates per 100,000 population
USA 6.6
Sweden 1.9
Holland  1.66
France 1.63
Italy 1.56
Britain 1.45
Germany 1.38

Statistics show that regions where the death penalty is least used are the safest for police officers

Execution in Texas involves a combination of three drugs – one of which is banned for use on animals because it is too cruel. Pancuronium bromide paralyses all exterior muscles but without any decrease in sensation. It paralyses the lungs and the person may feel that paralysis – he may be conscious and in excruciating pain but unable to move or cry out. In 2000 the American Veterinary Medical association banned the use of pancuronium bromide. It is still used in executions.