Little by little, countries are ditching the deathpenalty

　　各國逐漸放棄死刑

　　On September 19th Abdul Hamid al-Fakki, aSudanese, was executed in Saudi Arabia for thecrime of sorcery. On September 21st Troy Davis, ablack man convicted of shooting an off-duty whitepoliceman, was executed in the American state ofGeorgia. Protests that the evidence against him was flawed proved fruitless.

　　9月19日，蘇丹人阿布杜爾哈米德阿爾法基在沙特被以巫術罪處以死刑。9月21日，黑人特洛伊達維斯因槍殺一名下班后的白人警察，在美國佐治亞州被處決。此前，曾有人抗議稱證據(jù)有瑕疵，但未起到作用。

　　Despite these cases the death penalty, on the statute books since the days of Hammurabi, isdisappearing in much of the world. More than two-thirds of countries have done away with iteither in law or in practice. The latest is Benin. In August the west African country committeditself to abolishing capital punishment permanently. The number of countries that carry outjudicial killings fell from 41 in 1995 to 23 in 2010, according to Amnesty International, apressure group. China , Iran, North Korea, and Yemen accounted for most of theexecutions. Votes against the death penalty at the UN General Assembly have passed with bigand growing majorities since 2007. Capital punishment has virtually gone in Europe . This year China whittled down its list of crimespunishable by death.

　　盡管出現(xiàn)了這些死刑案例，但這種自漢謨拉比法典即明令在冊的刑罰在世界大多數(shù)國家都已消失。三分之二以上的國家在法律上或實踐中廢除了死刑。最新廢除死刑的國家是西非國家貝寧。今年8月，貝寧宣布永久廢除死刑。根據(jù)壓力集團大赦國際的統(tǒng)計，仍在執(zhí)行這種法律殺戮的國家從1995年的41個減為2010年的23個。中國、伊朗、朝鮮和也門執(zhí)行了絕大多數(shù)死刑。自2007年以來，每年聯(lián)大都以絕對且不斷增加的多數(shù)票通過決議，要求廢除死刑。歐洲實際上已經廢除了死刑。今年，中國削減了適用死刑的罪名。

　　Yet for all the apparent momentum, capital punishment remains entrenched in the MiddleEast and north Africa, and in parts of Asia, notably China. Jacqueline Macalesher of Penal ReformInternational, a lobby group, thinks the Arab spring could be a new spur to abolition, thoughshe worries that executing political enemies may prove attractive in the short run.

　　盡管廢死刑的勢頭很強，但中東、北非與亞洲部分地區(qū)仍堅持不愿放棄之。游說組織刑法改革國際的杰奎琳馬卡萊舍爾認為，阿拉伯之春可能成為廢除死刑的新動力，但她也擔心，在短時間內，處決政治對手也可能頗有吸引力。

　　The other big exception is America, where two-thirds of states still have the death penalty. Aleading Republican candidate for the presidency, Rick Perry, is governor of Texas, the statethat uses it most. The state has carried out a record 236 executions in his nearly 11 years asgovernor. Mr Perry says he loses no sleep over it, and many voters feel the same.

　　美國是另一個例外的主要國家，其三分之二的州仍有死刑。共和黨重量級總統(tǒng)候選人里克佩里是德克薩斯州州長，該州死刑案例最多，在佩里任州長的近11年內共執(zhí)行了創(chuàng)紀錄的236例死刑。佩里表示，他對此并不擔心，許多選民也持同樣看法。

　　But the abolitionist trend seems inexorable. In March Illinois became the fourth state in fouryears to scrap the death penalty. Maryland, Connecticut and California may follow suit.Squeezed state budgets are eroding enthusiasm. The cost of fighting protracted legal battlesand maintaining separate facilities for those condemned to death looks increasinglyunaffordable when schools and libraries are being closed. California alone has more than 700people on death row.

　　但廢除死刑的趨勢看起來不可阻擋。3月，伊利諾伊州成為四年內第四個廢除死刑的州。馬里蘭、康乃狄克與加利福尼亞也可能跟進。地方財政緊縮影響到各州堅持死刑的意愿。目前，因財政緊張，學校與圖書館紛紛關閉。在這種情況下，冗長的訴訟過程以及單獨關押被判死刑者所耗費用不貲，顯得越來越難以負擔。僅加利福尼亞一州，就有 700名被判死刑而未決者。

　　Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a pressure group that espousesabolition, ascribes increasing unhappiness over the death penalty to a long-term growth insensitivity to human rights. A growing number mind that the death penalty in America fallsdisproportionately on blacks and poor people. The chance that innocent folk may be executedcounts for more, with many, than the deterrent effect of capital punishment . Gruesome details about the mechanics of executions also stoke publicdisquiet.

　　支持廢除死刑的壓力集團 平等司法倡議創(chuàng)始人拜延斯蒂文斯表示，長期以來人們對人權的關注度不斷增加，因而對死刑的容忍度日趨下降。越來越多的人認為，在美國獲死刑者中，黑人與窮人比例過高。許多人對無辜者被錯殺的關切也超過了對死刑威懾作用的認可。執(zhí)行死刑過程中可怕的細節(jié)也增加了公眾的不安感。

　　Pressure to get into international clubs has also propelled abolition. The Council of Europe, aStrasbourg-based talking shop that requires members to accede to the European Conventionon Human Rights, has made the death penalty a bar to membership. That has left Belaruss application with rigor mortis.

　　融入國際社會的壓力也促進了有關國家廢除死刑。設在斯特拉斯堡的清談組織歐洲委員會要求其成員國加入歐洲人權公約，死刑遂成為加入該委員會的障礙。這令白俄羅斯加入該委員會的申請決無生機。

　　Little by little, countries are ditching the deathpenalty

　　各國逐漸放棄死刑

　　On September 19th Abdul Hamid al-Fakki, aSudanese, was executed in Saudi Arabia for thecrime of sorcery. On September 21st Troy Davis, ablack man convicted of shooting an off-duty whitepoliceman, was executed in the American state ofGeorgia. Protests that the evidence against him was flawed proved fruitless.

　　9月19日，蘇丹人阿布杜爾哈米德阿爾法基在沙特被以巫術罪處以死刑。9月21日，黑人特洛伊達維斯因槍殺一名下班后的白人警察，在美國佐治亞州被處決。此前，曾有人抗議稱證據(jù)有瑕疵，但未起到作用。

　　Despite these cases the death penalty, on the statute books since the days of Hammurabi, isdisappearing in much of the world. More than two-thirds of countries have done away with iteither in law or in practice. The latest is Benin. In August the west African country committeditself to abolishing capital punishment permanently. The number of countries that carry outjudicial killings fell from 41 in 1995 to 23 in 2010, according to Amnesty International, apressure group. China , Iran, North Korea, and Yemen accounted for most of theexecutions. Votes against the death penalty at the UN General Assembly have passed with bigand growing majorities since 2007. Capital punishment has virtually gone in Europe . This year China whittled down its list of crimespunishable by death.

　　盡管出現(xiàn)了這些死刑案例，但這種自漢謨拉比法典即明令在冊的刑罰在世界大多數(shù)國家都已消失。三分之二以上的國家在法律上或實踐中廢除了死刑。最新廢除死刑的國家是西非國家貝寧。今年8月，貝寧宣布永久廢除死刑。根據(jù)壓力集團大赦國際的統(tǒng)計，仍在執(zhí)行這種法律殺戮的國家從1995年的41個減為2010年的23個。中國、伊朗、朝鮮和也門執(zhí)行了絕大多數(shù)死刑。自2007年以來，每年聯(lián)大都以絕對且不斷增加的多數(shù)票通過決議，要求廢除死刑。歐洲實際上已經廢除了死刑。今年，中國削減了適用死刑的罪名。

　　Yet for all the apparent momentum, capital punishment remains entrenched in the MiddleEast and north Africa, and in parts of Asia, notably China. Jacqueline Macalesher of Penal ReformInternational, a lobby group, thinks the Arab spring could be a new spur to abolition, thoughshe worries that executing political enemies may prove attractive in the short run.

　　盡管廢死刑的勢頭很強，但中東、北非與亞洲部分地區(qū)仍堅持不愿放棄之。游說組織刑法改革國際的杰奎琳馬卡萊舍爾認為，阿拉伯之春可能成為廢除死刑的新動力，但她也擔心，在短時間內，處決政治對手也可能頗有吸引力。

　　The other big exception is America, where two-thirds of states still have the death penalty. Aleading Republican candidate for the presidency, Rick Perry, is governor of Texas, the statethat uses it most. The state has carried out a record 236 executions in his nearly 11 years asgovernor. Mr Perry says he loses no sleep over it, and many voters feel the same.

　　美國是另一個例外的主要國家，其三分之二的州仍有死刑。共和黨重量級總統(tǒng)候選人里克佩里是德克薩斯州州長，該州死刑案例最多，在佩里任州長的近11年內共執(zhí)行了創(chuàng)紀錄的236例死刑。佩里表示，他對此并不擔心，許多選民也持同樣看法。

　　But the abolitionist trend seems inexorable. In March Illinois became the fourth state in fouryears to scrap the death penalty. Maryland, Connecticut and California may follow suit.Squeezed state budgets are eroding enthusiasm. The cost of fighting protracted legal battlesand maintaining separate facilities for those condemned to death looks increasinglyunaffordable when schools and libraries are being closed. California alone has more than 700people on death row.

　　但廢除死刑的趨勢看起來不可阻擋。3月，伊利諾伊州成為四年內第四個廢除死刑的州。馬里蘭、康乃狄克與加利福尼亞也可能跟進。地方財政緊縮影響到各州堅持死刑的意愿。目前，因財政緊張，學校與圖書館紛紛關閉。在這種情況下，冗長的訴訟過程以及單獨關押被判死刑者所耗費用不貲，顯得越來越難以負擔。僅加利福尼亞一州，就有 700名被判死刑而未決者。

　　Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a pressure group that espousesabolition, ascribes increasing unhappiness over the death penalty to a long-term growth insensitivity to human rights. A growing number mind that the death penalty in America fallsdisproportionately on blacks and poor people. The chance that innocent folk may be executedcounts for more, with many, than the deterrent effect of capital punishment . Gruesome details about the mechanics of executions also stoke publicdisquiet.

　　支持廢除死刑的壓力集團 平等司法倡議創(chuàng)始人拜延斯蒂文斯表示，長期以來人們對人權的關注度不斷增加，因而對死刑的容忍度日趨下降。越來越多的人認為，在美國獲死刑者中，黑人與窮人比例過高。許多人對無辜者被錯殺的關切也超過了對死刑威懾作用的認可。執(zhí)行死刑過程中可怕的細節(jié)也增加了公眾的不安感。

　　Pressure to get into international clubs has also propelled abolition. The Council of Europe, aStrasbourg-based talking shop that requires members to accede to the European Conventionon Human Rights, has made the death penalty a bar to membership. That has left Belaruss application with rigor mortis.

　　融入國際社會的壓力也促進了有關國家廢除死刑。設在斯特拉斯堡的清談組織歐洲委員會要求其成員國加入歐洲人權公約，死刑遂成為加入該委員會的障礙。這令白俄羅斯加入該委員會的申請決無生機。