U.S. among top 4 executioners: Amnesty International

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http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/04/06/world/capital_pun_ai040406

U.S. among top 4 executioners: Amnesty International
GENEVA - The United States was among four countries that accounted for more than eight of every 10 executions last year, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

INDEPTH: Capital punishment

In a new report, the human rights group said China, Iran, Vietnam and the United States carried out 84 per cent of the known executions in 2003.

Amnesty said it has documented 1,146 executions around the world, but believes the number to be much higher.

According to the report, 28 countries executed people last year including:

726 in China
108 in Iran
65 in the United States
64 in Vietnam

The records available in China are limited and incomplete, Amnesty said, suggesting the real number of people killed by the state could be in the thousands.
The report also indicates 63 countries issued death sentences for 2,756 people.

Along with its report, Amnesty issued a call for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to move to end all executions. The UN commission is currently holding its annual meeting in Geneva.

Amnesty argues that the death penalty is no deterrent to crime, and holds Canada up as an example of its point. Amnesty says the homicide rate in Canada has gone down 40 per cent since Ottawa abolished capital punishment in 1975.

The human rights group also worries that innocent people are sometimes put to death.