My commitment to the abolition of the death penalty began in 2008, when I read a press article about Troy Davis, a man on death row in Georgia. Just two hours before his execution, he was informed that he would benefit from a stay of execution. At the time, I thought that subjecting someone to the waiting for an imminent execution, the passing of time and psychological distress was absolutely inhumane. In the end, he was later executed, despite always maintaining his innocence.

More than ever, we should be supportive of activists in these countries. We should support them at all costs, just as we should raise our voices at every execution, each one being a crime against humanity. The task ahead remains unfinished and difficult. Activists need to redouble their efforts. I thank them from the bottom of my heart, especially those who are fighting against the scourge of the death penalty in countries where it is still applied... I am convinced that the movement can only grow and strengthen. That said, it depends on you, who fight every day against the abomination that is the death penalty. Never forget : this punishment is always an absolute denial of the most fundamental human right, the right to life.

Thanks to the work of ECPM and other NGOs, the death penalty is in decline worldwide, yet it is still applied in over 50 countries, sometimes in complete secrecy. We do not even know the exact number of executions in China! And the grim hangings orchestrated this year by the Iranian regime have shown that the death penalty remains a tool of repression against the freedom of peoples. Now more than ever, it is our responsibility to demonstrate that the death penalty is the most cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and to call for its universal abolition.