General Assembly Resolution #443 “Preventing the Execution of Innocents” (Category: Civil Rights; Strength: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
Recalling the extensive history of World Assembly delegations addressing the question of capital punishment,
Rejecting the condemnable practice of sacrificing equal protection under the law and the obstruction of justice in order to prevent the execution of convicted felons,
Recognizing GA #535 "Death Penalty Ban" and
GA #545 "Military Death Penalty Ban", two extant resolutions that enact bans on capital punishment without handicapping the ability of member states to pursue justice,
The World Assembly hereby repeals #443 "Preventing the Execution of Innocents" on these grounds:
- The target dishonestly disguises a death penalty ban as mere regulation for the purpose of preventing wrongful executions.
- The target converts member states into safe havens for suspected mass murderers, mobsters, war criminals, and terrorists as a result of the extradition restrictions in section 7.
- Several sections make a mockery of justice, embarrassing the World Assembly by their continued existence.
- By the creation and application of the Capital Cases division of the Judicial Committee of the Compliance Commission, a committee originally intended solely for the purpose of overseeing the publication of international agreements, the World Assembly imposed cumbersome and excessive oversight of the justice systems of member states. The Capital Cases division practiced oversight over every case in which a convict received a capital sentence, regardless of whether there existed any basis to suspect wrongdoing, negligence, or miscarriage of justice on the part of the member state.
- The capital punishment quota established in section 2 obstructed equal protection under the law, requiring member states to sentence criminals convicted of similar crimes to unequal punishments.
- Section 4.e facilitated disruptions in judicial proceedings, increasing the frequency of mistrials and the need for appellate verdicts, as a result of demolishing all limits to the defense's admission of evidence, including proof of fabrication or falsification, failure in the chain of custody, and standards of confidentiality.
- Section 4.f requires member states to prove that additional evidence, true or false, could not arise to "cast doubt on the guilt of the defendant for any charge which could carry a capital sentence". This raises the standard for conviction from "guilt beyond reasonable doubt" to an impossible standard of "guilt beyond any doubt".
- Section 5.a required member states to, following a guilty verdict at trial, grant the defense six months to review evidence, and grant the Capital Cases division another six months after that for the same reason, before carrying out any execution. In conjunction with section 8, which provided that trial certification by the Capital Cases division (and with it the authority to carry out an execution) expires after one year, this prohibited any execution in most member states.
- Section 8 permitted convicted criminals to avoid execution indefinitely and to obstruct the course of justice by merely refusing to "exhaust all available appeals".
- Section 6 required member states to only adopt execution methods "proven beyond any reasonable doubt not to cause pain or suffering". Since the threat of death itself produces emotional suffering in almost all individuals, and since no authority can prove that any form of execution causes no degree of physical pain or suffering, this again prohibited all execution methods.
- GA #535 "Death Penalty Ban" and GA #545 "Military Death Penalty Ban" exceed the desired effects of the target resolution, rendering its restrictions obsolete.
