Wrongful execution

Capital punishment was abolished in the United Kingdom in part because of the case of Timothy Evans, an innocent man who was hanged in 1950.

Main article: Wrongful execution

It is frequently argued that capital punishment leads tomiscarriage of justice through the wrongful execution of innocent persons.^[122] Many people have been proclaimed innocent victims of the death penalty.^{[123][124][125]}

Some have claimed that as many as 39 executions have been carried out in the face of compelling evidence of innocence or serious doubt about guilt in the US from 1992 through 2004. Newly available DNA evidenceprevented the pending execution of more than 15 death row inmates during the same period in the US,^[126] but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases.^[127] However, since the death penalty reinstatement in the United States during the 1970s, no inmate executed has been granted posthumous pardon.^[128]

Also improper procedure may result in unfair executions. For example, Amnesty Internationalargues that in Singapore "the Misuse of Drugs Act contains a series of presumptions which shift the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused. This conflicts with the universally guaranteed right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty".^[129] This refers to a situation when someone is being caught with drugs. In this situation, in almost any jurisdiction, the prosecution has a prima facie case.

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