ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the worldwide death penalty abolitionist effort, with special focus on the United States, and evaluates the likelihood of the death penalty's demise in light of recent developments. It focuses on the United States' recent experience with the death penalty, especially in light of the 2016 elections. The chapter presents data showing the pre-Donald Trump success of the death penalty abolitionist movement in the United States. The single most important factor in the acceleration of capital punishment abolition worldwide in the 1980s and 1990s appears to be its successful coupling with the issue of human rights. The concept of human rights became institutionalized in 1948, when the United Nations, without dissent, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the Catholic Church have been at the forefront of the worldwide death penalty abolitionist movement.
