What is the link between torture and the death penalty ?

Torture and the death penalty, although distinct, are often closely linked, as they share mechanisms, contexts and consequences that profoundly violate human rights and dignity. Here are the main links that unite them:

1. Torture in the judicial process

In many countries, torture is used to obtain confessions or information to sentence individuals to death.

2. Psychological suffering linked to the death penalty

The death penalty is itself a form of psychological torture. Those sentenced to death endure an unbearable wait, sometimes for years, on what is known as "death row". This constant uncertainty about the date and manner of their execution causes intense mental suffering, amounting to a form of prolonged torture.

3. Often cruel execution practices

Execution methods, such as hanging, lethal injection or electrocution, often involve extreme physical and psychological suffering.

4. A common attack on human dignity

Torture and the death penalty share a fundamental commonality: they deny the inherent dignity of every human being.

5. A common fight to abolish them

The fight against torture and the death penalty is an inseparable process. Both practices are prohibited by international law, but their abolition requires constant vigilance in the face of judicial, political and social abuses.

By defending victims of torture, organisations like ACAT Luxembourg are also part of the fight against the death penalty, because the two practices reinforce each other in systems where human rights are weak.