PHILADELPHIA — A United Nations special rapporteur is calling for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, concluding in a newly-released report that capital punishment is incompatible with international human rights law because it constitutes torture and violates the inherent dignity of every person.
The report, issued in April by Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, argues that the death penalty is not simply a criminal sanction but a state-imposed system of deliberate suffering that disproportionately impacts poor people, people with disabilities and other marginalized communities.
“Capital punishment amounts to a State-controlled regime of deliberate suffering, which has no place in a criminal justice system founded on human rights,” Tidball-Binz said, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. “Only immediate abolishment can ensure compliance with State obligations and respect for human life and dignity.”
The report concludes that the suffering associated with capital punishment extends far beyond the execution itself, encompassing prolonged death-row confinement, uncertainty, secrecy surrounding execution procedures and discriminatory patterns in sentencing. Tidball-Binz argues these cumulative harms violate the international prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Atlantic Center for Capital Representation submitted comments supporting Tidball-Binz’s findings, arguing that capital punishment functions as a political tool disproportionately wielded against accused people represented by “underresourced counsel,” according to the organization’s press statement.
“Capital punishment cannot be assessed solely as a judicial sanction, but must also be examined as a State-controlled penal regime whose compatibility with international law depends on the cumulative suffering it generates and the conditions governing its imposition and enforcement,” the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation wrote in its analysis of the report.
The organization contends that systemic inequities—including inadequate legal representation, racial disparities and arbitrary application—undermine any claim that the death penalty can be administered fairly or consistently with human rights principles.
In the United States, 23 states and Washington, D.C., have abolished the death penalty, while 27 states, the federal government and the military retain capital punishment, according to Death Penalty Focus.
California, Oregon and Pennsylvania continue to maintain formal moratoriums on executions despite retaining capital punishment in statute, according to Death Penalty Focus.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are currently considering two measures—House Bill 99 and House Bill 888—that would repeal the state’s death penalty. Pennsylvania has not carried out an execution since Gary Heidnik was executed by lethal injection in 1999, according to PennLive.
“Not only is the death penalty an ineffective deterrent to violent crime, but it also costs the state an incredible amount of money, time and resources,” Rep. Chris Rabb, sponsor of H.B. 99, said in April 2026, according to his website. “The risk of continuing this unproductive practice far outweighs the few, if any, benefits.”
The Atlantic Center for Capital Representation said it will continue advocating for repeal while assisting defense attorneys representing people facing death sentences in Pennsylvania.
The organization stated in its press release that it will continue “helping capital defense teams navigate this flawed process to stop death sentences in Pennsylvania, until the commonwealth […] recognizes that the process is irredeemable.”
Although the use of capital punishment has declined globally over the past several decades, the report notes that executions remain widespread in a number of countries.
According to Amnesty International, at least 2,707 people were executed in 2025 across 17 countries, representing a 78% increase from the 1,518 known executions recorded in 2024.
China remains the world’s leading executioner, although the actual number of executions is treated as a state secret, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
After China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United States carried out the largest number of known executions in 2025, Amnesty International reported.
For advocates, the U.N. report represents another significant international condemnation of capital punishment, framing the issue not only as one of criminal justice policy but as a fundamental human rights violation that cannot be reconciled with modern legal standards.
“The Special Rapporteur finds that this suffering is not merely incidental to capital punishment but is inherent in its design and implementation and amounts to torture or ill-treatment,” the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation wrote in its report. “It is further intensified by secrecy, arbitrariness, abuse, discrimination, and the vulnerability and powerlessness routinely experienced by those subjected to it.”
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