Today the 1,000th execution took place in the USA since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the US Supreme Court. Once again Amnesty International calls on US State and Federal authorities to put an immediate end to all executions. The death penalty is by nature ineffective, arbitrary and does not deter crime. | | On the contrary, it creates more victims and demeans society as a whole. The human rights organisation urges the European Union and its Member States to use every opportunity to denounce the use of the death penalty as an inhumane punishment and promote its abolition. |