[GA - Failed] Repeal: “Preventing The Execution Of Innocents”

General Assembly Resolution #443 “Preventing the Execution of Innocents” (Category: Civil Rights; Strength: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Affirming that member states should take all reasonable steps to avoid executing an innocent person;

Regretting that GAR #443, "Preventing the Execution of Innocents", sought to accomplish this goal by establishing an international judicial mechanism for reviewing capital convictions (herein referred to as the "Division") that is grossly unfair, absurdly complex, full of ambiguities, and seems designed to ban capital punishment in all but name;

Criticizing the target resolution in particular for:

1. demonstrating a fundamental lack of respect for the judicial systems of member states by subjecting every capital case to invasive World Assembly oversight, even when there is zero evidence of negilgence or malpractice,
   
   
   
   
2. engaging in unjust discrimination on the basis of member state population by requiring member states to submit "no more than than one capital case per million inhabitants per year" to the Division, rendering it difficult or impossible for smaller nations of fewer than one million people to use capital punishment,
   
   
   
   
3. contributing to violations of the basic principles of justice by forcing member states to treat similarly situated convicts differently with respect to their eligibility for capital punishment, depending on whether the member state happened to exceed the aforementioned quota,
   
   
   
   
4. blocking valid limits to discovery, such as personally identifying information that is not material to the case, by requiring that the defense be provided with "all evidence collected in the process of investigation" without exception,
   
   
   
   
5. blocking valid limits to the admission of evidence, such as proof of fabrication, by requiring member states to "prohibit evidentiary barriers from barring the defence admission of evidence" without exception,
   
   
   
   
6. requiring member states to meet the effectively impossible standard of proving that "there could not arise evidence (foreseeable at the time of trial) that would cast doubt on the guilt of the defendant" rather than the more common standard of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt,
   
   
   
   
7. creating needless delay by requiring an additional post-sentencing discovery period of six months each by the Division and the defense, and by arbitrarily requiring these periods to occur serially rather than concurrently,
   
   
   
   
8. arbitrarily prohibiting the execution of those who have brutally tortured and killed only one person as opposed to several,
   
   
   
   
9. arbitrarily prohibiting member states from extraditing criminals to nations with capital punishment, even those who agree to abide by the protections of the target resolution,
   
   
   
   
10. seemingly permitting a defendant to avoid capital punishment by simply not "exhaust[ing] all available appeals" because then the Division cannot certify the case, and
    
    
    
    
11. arbitrarily expiring Division certification after only one year even if there have been no material changes to the case record, and providing no clear mechanism for certification to be renewed;

Supporting the passage of true and lasting compromise legislation on the issue of capital punishment;

The General Assembly,

Repeals GAR #443, "Preventing the Execution of Innocents".

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Voting Instructions:

• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
• Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
• Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
• Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.

Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!

Ministry IFV
The target resolution, while intending to modernize WA legal systems and ensure innocents are not unjustly killed, possesses various flaws that may lead to its downfall. Namely, the block of limits on discovery and admission of evidence, as well as requiring cases to meet a requirement of no doubt, well beyond that of reasonable doubt. Furthermore, the resolution possesses multiple points that appear to be selected arbitrarily; including the restriction on the amount of people affected by the crimes committed and the order and separation of the discovery periods by the Division and various council associated with the case. Lastly, a criminal could avoid capital punishment by indefinitely delaying appeals and other avenues that prevent the Division from certifying the case.

In hopes of a redraft or new draft addressing capital punishment in the WA, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a close evaluation of the repeal and the target resolution, and a vote For this repeal.

For reference and sake of comparison, the Ministry gave a "No Recommendation" at the original passing of this target resoltuion, such IFV you can find in the following link:
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1093883

For.

EDIT: I accidentally read the original resolution.

For.

@Praetor @Bobberino Any reasons why you voted the way you did?

Against. I know it’s an imperfect resolution, but without a replacement I cannot support this.

Idk how to feel about this, seems like a legalization of capital punishments. Waiting on more info.

For: I believe that it may be very hard to regulate the use of capital punishment across all nations and most especially those whose punitive system and prison system is not strong or developed enough to defend the people from dangerous and committed subjects of sinful and life threatening acts agains the people.

BMWSurfer:

@Praetor @Bobberino Any reasons why you voted the way you did?

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Yes.

I tend to not get into arguments I do not care too much about the result or I do not believe my argument will suceed.

For.
The majority have already made it known that they support capital punishment at a national level, and knowing full well that it leads to the execution of the innocent on occasion, as well as the guilty. Flawed as I feel their rationale is, that's where the Assembly, as a collective, stands on the issue.
There seems to be a notion among some, that the WA, and it's legislated entities and committees are somehow greater, wiser, more just than the sum of its parts. I have a bit of trouble with that rationale, as well. If it's going to be a democracy, then it has to be a democracy, and legislation that attempts to create small hierarchies and star chambers, apart from what the WA claims to be, fail that democracy.
My greatest objection to capital punishment is that it is a life and death decision made by fallible humans. Mistakes happen even in the most legitimate jurisdictions. I genuinely don't believe that adding another group of fallible humans to that process really fixes the problem. Mistakes will still happen.
We have to assume that most jurisdictions in the WA have reasonable due process, opportunities to appeal, etc. I don't think we can take the position every one of these nations requires a nanny. A respect for sovereign rights in law needs to be preserved. Nations need to be given the benefit of the doubt.
I understand there are going to be outliers, and that problem needs to be addressed, but I don't think the WA nosing in on every judiciary in the land is the right way to go about it.

Against

I may be open to repealing this, but only if I had a clear idea of what we could get to replace it. I do not believe this is the right effort or the right time to do it, and am inclined to hold the ground where we currently have it given the unknown we are facing currently.

EDIT: There’s a replacement out there. I’m not sure how I feel about it. This topic has already not gone the way I was hoping it would and I fear this resolution on top of the replacement being offered will take us down the wrong direction on this issue. I remain opposed.

For. This has been a long time coming. A replacement proposal has already been drafted.

Although I oppose the death penalty, the WA shouldn't meddle in these affairs, it's up to each nation's judicial system to fairly trial each case according to their own laws.

For

For

Voting FOR

Abstain.

For

Against.

The death penalty is abhorrent and does nothing to deter crime. This is exactly the kind of thing the WA should legislate against.

For.

For