Amnesty International recent­ly released its annu­al report on inter­na­tion­al abus­es and progress in the field of human rights: ​“The State of the World’s Human Rights.” The report cov­ers January to December 2009 and address­es human rights issues in every coun­try around the world. The report also high­lights coun­tries’ involve­ment in inter­na­tion­al and region­al human rights treaties. Among the nations in the Americas, the United States had the most active death penal­ty prac­tices with over 100 new death sen­tences and 52 exe­cu­tions. Although death sen­tences were hand­ed down in the Bahamas, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, no exe­cu­tions were car­ried out. The major­i­ty of North American and South American coun­tries are abo­li­tion­ist in law or in practice.

(Amnesty International, ​“The State of the World’s Human Rights,” June 2010). See International or click here for more Resources on the Death Penalty.

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