Death Penalty

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception – regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution. Learn about AIUSA’s death penalty abolition work. 

Read and share the “Amnesty International Global Report: Death Sentences and Executions 2024.”

AIUSA Group 30 works to end the Death Penalty in California and beyond.
We are members of the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, working
on legal justice reform legislation and campaigns including three
iterations of the California Racial Justice Act.

California has the largest death row in the United States, with almost 600 people serving death sentences. Gov. Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. Please join the Universal Clemency Campaign for California and call on Governor Newsom to commute California’s death row before he leaves office in 2026.

Kevin Cooper and Jarvis Jay Masters are two human rights defenders incarcerated on California’s death row. Please learn about their cases and learn how you can help below.