Recently Pope Francis declared the death penalty “inadmissible” and took a stand to work towards abolishing the death penalty throughout the world. Amnesty International reported that 58 countries still apply the death penalty for common crimes. In addition, 35 countries maintain the death penalty but have not applied it for decades. China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia are the nations with the highest number of executions per year. These countries are responsible for 90% of the total annual executions. China is the country with the highest execution rate. Executions of maximum penalties in Latin America have not been applied for more than a decade. That being said, there are still 6 Latin American countries that include the death penalty in their legislation these countries include; Cuba, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, El Salvador, and Brazil. Cuba and Guatemala still contemplate execution against any crime. The rest of the world has a lot to learn from countries that do not have the death penalty in their legislation. It is common to see people that are adamant about pro life/ anti-abortion, but the are not against the death penalty. Thus insinuating that an unborn life is more important than human life. The death penalty is cruel and unjust, no human deserves to be executed, no matter the crime. Human life is so valuable in all stages and states. The death penalty is murder, murder is one of the worst crimes you can commit, yet it is still sanctioned by courts all over the world. There are significantly less executions in Latin America, than any other region in the world. This is due to wide practice of christianity, which believes in the value of human life at all stages, and in natural death. Executions are not natural death. The world needs to listen to what Pope Francis is saying, we need to abolish the death penalty.
