The Death Penalty Project

17/07/2026

Yesterday, our Co-Founders and Co-Executive Directors, Saul Lehrfreund and Parvais Jabbar, were appointed to the House of Lords as life peers.

This honour recognises over 30 years of tireless work challenging injustice, defending the rights of people facing death sentences and other cruel punishments and helping to build fairer and more humane criminal justice systems worldwide.

As members of the House of Lords, they will continue to champion the rule of law, justice and human rights and remain unwavering in their commitment to ending the death penalty everywhere.

More: https://deathpenaltyproject.org/the-death-penalty-projects-co-executive-directors-saul-lehrfreund-and-parvais-jabbar-appointed-to-the-house-of-lords/

10/07/2026

This week brought a significant moment in the history of the death penalty in the United Kingdom: a posthumous pardon for Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK.

The Death Penalty Project was honoured to work with Ruth's family and her Mischon De Reya legal team this year to provide a written submission in support of their application. We highlighted how, given the death penalty was mandatory for murder at the time of Ruth's conviction, she was denied a proper assessment of her culpability. While nothing can undo what happened in 1955, this long-overdue recognition from the British government acknowledges that evidence of the abuse and trauma she experienced was never properly considered, leading to an inhuman and wholly disproportionate punishment.

Ruth's case helped change the course of criminal justice history in the UK. Yet, as many have observed this week, it is easy to view her story as something that could only have happened in the past. The reality is that many injustices at the heart of Ruth's case are not historical. They are still happening now.

Around the world, women continue to face criminalisation and the death penalty after acting in the context of prolonged abuse, trauma and gender-based violence. In some jurisdictions, mandatory death penalty laws continue to exist, preventing judges from considering mitigating circumstances at all.

As renewed attention is rightly focused on Ruth's story, we hope it also encourages people to engage with the women facing similar circumstances today.

The surest safeguard against irreversible miscarriages of justice remains the same as it was seven decades ago: the abolition of the death penalty. Until the punishment has been universally outlawed, there will always be the risk that women whose experiences of abuse, trauma and violence have been misunderstood, ignored or discounted will be condemned first, and only recognised as victims when it is too late.

More:

Just days before the 71st anniversary of her ex*****on Ruth Ellis was granted a posthumous conditional pardon.

06/07/2026

Last week, The Death Penalty Project team had the pleasure of joining abolitionists, policymakers, legal experts and civil society organisations from around the world at the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris.

Alongside a packed programme of plenaries, workshops and side events, we were proud to co-host a workshop on preventing states from returning to the death penalty, as well as a dedicated side-event on the status of capital punishment across the Commonwealth.

Our workshop sparked lively discussion about practical strategies to consolidate progress in criminal justice reform, focusing not only on how to end ex*****ons, but mechanisms to secure the permanent and irreversible removal of the death penalty and its legacy from law.

At our Commonwealth side event, we were honoured to be joined by Sierra Leone's Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Hon. Alpha Sesay, and Hon. Justice Adrian Saunders, the former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Together, we reflected on lessons from our joint abolition efforts and discussed how sustained advocacy and strategic partnerships can help drive further progress in regions facing stasis. Particularly, the discussion focused on the importance of finding key champions of the abolitionist cause within Commonwealth nations to advocate both domestically and across member states.

Events like these are a powerful reminder that sustainable progress is achieved through collaboration. By sharing experiences, challenges and devising new strategies with partners across the abolitionist movement, we strengthen our collective efforts and renew our determination to achieve our shared goal: ending the death penalty, everywhere.

11/06/2026

🚨 New research from Bangladesh uncovers alarming structural flaws compromising the effectiveness of legal representation – meaning unfair and unsafe outcomes are inevitable in death penalty cases 🚨

The empirical study, commissioned by The Death Penalty Project and authored by Professor Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman and Rafid Azad Saumik at the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies University of Dhaka, examines the effectiveness of legal representation provided to those facing the death penalty in Bangladesh.

The researchers interviewed people with lived experience of Bangladesh’s death penalty regime as well as legal practitioners, academics and civil society professionals. Their findings are stark:

💵 Exceedingly poor compensation for state-funded legal representation is disincentivising lawyers.
⚖️ Lawyers are often reluctant to take on highly politicised or public interest cases due to the risk of harassment or reputational damage.
📉 The result is an acute shortage of suitably experienced lawyers, particularly at trial stage.
🕛 There is a pattern of delayed appointment of legal representation, a deeply concerning trend in a system where torture and corruption in early-stage detention is common.
📞 Poor communication between clients and their lawyers is frequent – often due to low pay and lack of time. Many state‑funded lawyers rarely visit clients in prison, with first contact sometimes happening on the day of trial.

The implications are stark. In Bangladesh, the quality of justice you receive is tied to what you can afford. Those who are unable to cover the costs of a private lawyers are more likely to receive poorer quality representation, increasing the risk of unjust outcomes, wrongful convictions and ultimately, a death sentence. This is a violation of fair trial rights and another deep flaw in Bangladesh’s failing justice system.

More: https://deathpenaltyproject.org/poor-legal-representation-driving-unsafe-and-unjust-death-sentences-in-bangladesh/

27/05/2026

Last week, the Privy Council ruled that our client, Uriah Woods, should succeed in appealing his murder conviction. We obtained fresh psychiatric and psychological evidence, which has the potential to support a defence of diminished responsibility, and would remove Mr Woods from death row.

The court criticised the State of Trinidad and Tobago for failing to evaluate Mr Woods’ mental state, an obligation under international law. Despite presenting with both a mental illness and neurodevelopmental disability, Mr Woods has been languishing on death row for over a decade.

His case does not exist in isolation. It is just one example of Trinidad and Tobago’s continued disregard for their human rights obligations. The Privy Council implored the State to introduce “long overdue” routine mental health assessments for defendants accused of serious crimes.

More: https://deathpenaltyproject.org/mental-health-assessments-are-long-overdue-in-trinidad-and-tobago-death-penalty-cases/

15/05/2026

This week, the Israeli Knesset passed another piece of new death penalty legislation, this time paving the way for the use of capital punishment and public trials for those accused of participating in the atrocities of 7 October 2023.

The implications of these new laws are deeply troubling. The first bill, passed on 30 March, discriminately targets Palestinians and violates basic due process guarantees and procedural safeguards. The second opens the door to livestreamed capital proceedings before a military tribunal, raising serious concerns about fair trial rights.

Our Co-Executive Director, Saul Lehrfreund, and Matthew Goldberg, the President of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, have co-authored an article for the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford's blog. They examine the overtly political motivations behind this expansion of death penalty legislation, which goes against the global trend of rejecting capital punishment – and Israel's own track record as an advocate for ending ex*****ons.

They pose that these laws are not about crime control or securing accountability for grave atrocities. Rather, they are penal populism in action. By abandoning core principles of justice and international law, the death penalty is being used as a political tool to weaken the rule of law and to normalise the expansion of the state's power to punish without legal constraint.

Read the full piece 👇

Back to Death Penalty Research Unit Blog A distortion of legislative necessity: Israel’s new death penalty laws, and the mandate for immediate revision Posted: 15 May 2026 Time to read: 13 Minutes Author(s): Saul Lehrfreund Co-Executive Director, The Death Penalty Project Matthew Goldberg Israel.....

30/04/2026

The death penalty continues to exist in more than 70 countries. An estimated 28,000 people are on death row around the world. And globally, the annual number of ex*****ons are sharply on the rise.

Our work is rooted in a simple but profound belief: the death penalty is wrong, for all people, in all circumstances. It is cruel, discriminatory, arbitrary and irreversible.

We want to see the punishment consigned to history, once and for all. But taking action against capital punishment is not straightforward – so how do we do it?

At our core, we are fierce litigators, providing free legal representation and directly challenging the legality of the death penalty through the courts. Our team and strategies also expand beyond the legal sphere into policy engagement, research and alliance building. We work alongside a global network of partners, who are all vital collaborators in our joint fight for justice and human rights.

What we do – and support from people like you – has truly never been more urgent. Find out more about our approach, our partners and how you can get involved in our fight against the death penalty on our website.

⚖️🔗 👉 https://deathpenaltyproject.org/about/what-we-do/

13/04/2026

In September 2024, British citizen Youssouf Ezangi was sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Alongside 36 others, he was convicted by a military court for his alleged involvement in an attack on the Palais de la Nation on 19 May 2024. The legal proceedings violated fundamental fair trial rights.

The DRC’s Constitution and international law prohibit civilians from being tried for capital crimes before military tribunals. Defendants reported brutal treatment upon arrest, and their access to legal representation was inhibited. They also faced an automatic, mandatory death sentence upon conviction, meaning there was no opportunity for mitigating evidence to be considered. Following his trial, Mr Ezangi was held in a cell with approximately 250 other people, living under a real and immediate risk of ex*****on.

Throughout his trial and appeal, we have provided assistance and advice to Mr Ezangi’s legal team in the DRC and to the UK FCDO. Our priority has been to raise fair trial concerns, challenge practices that violate domestic and international law, and advance legal and political remedies to prevent his ex*****on.

On 31 March 2026, following a diplomatic agreement between the Congolese and British Governments, Mr Ezangi was transferred from N’dolo Prison in Kinshasa to HMP Belmarsh in London. As the UK has abolished the death penalty, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment upon transfer. Further legal proceedings will now follow before the High Court.

👉 More on Mr Ezangi’s case:

https://deathpenaltyproject.org/british-citizen-returned-to-the-uk-after-18-months-living-under-a-sentence-of-death-in-the-drc/

📰 Read yesterday’s Observer article on his return:

https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/london-plumber-sentenced-to-death-for-african-coup-attempt-back-in-the-uk

08/04/2026

Our 2025 Annual Report brings together our legal wins, global partnerships and the human stories that drive our mission forward. Last year, together, we:

⚖️ Provided direct legal representation or assistance to 20 individuals facing death sentences. Three people were spared death sentences, and one person had their death sentence overturned.

💡 Held high level engagements about criminal justice with decision-makers in eight countries. In total, we are working towards reform with our partner organisations in more than 20 countries.

📖 Published two major research reports — on abolitionist de facto states and the trauma capital punishment systems can inflict on victims' families.

🏛️ Delivered three targeted training workshops to more than 80 individuals working in criminal justice, covering urgent human rights issues such as mental health in capital punishment cases.

Dive deeper into the stories, the data and the impact we can have thanks to your support. Read our Annual Report today: https://deathpenaltyproject.org/resource/the-death-penalty-project-annual-report-2025/

01/04/2026

This year marks 50 years since The Death Penalty Project’s organisational mission first took shape. In that time, we have been taking massive strides in protecting the rights of people facing capital punishment and advancing fairer, more humane justice systems around the world.

Grounded in the belief that the death penalty is a cruel, discriminatory and arbitrary punishment, we create lasting change, providing free legal representation, directly challenging the legality of capital punishment and promoting human rights standards in criminal justice systems.

Today, we are stepping forward with a refreshed look and a new website – a renewed expression of who we are: a bold and impactful legal action charity working in more than 20 countries, tackling one of the most urgent human rights challenges of our time.

We are ending the death penalty and its legacy. End of sentence.

Join us.

📰 Read our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/deathpenaltyproject.org/a-refreshed-look-same-commitment-to-ending-the-death-penalty

🔗 Browse our new website: https://deathpenaltyproject.org/