Amnesty International urged people around the world...

Amnesty International urged people around the world to pressure countries to abolish the death penalty. "Death is not justice. The death penalty violates the very foundation of human value and dignity," Amnesty director Irene Khan said in a press release. "It is outrageous that states still carry out executions," Khan said. "No research has shown that it deters criminality more effectively than other punishments, instead it fuels a culture of violence, is often applied in a discriminatory manner and has no place in modern society," Khan said. Amnesty called on people to sign an on-line petition urging governments to cease executions immediately.