I have yet to see a death case among the dozen coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial... People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Said : Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, way back in 2001 (Aug. 10), delivering a lecture on the importance of public service law at the University of the District of Columbia as reported in a news item by The Associated Press. Ginsburg had admitted that she found the death penalty "the hardest part of the job." "If given her druthers, she would "go back to the day to when the Supreme Court said the death penalty can't be applied with an even hand," Ginsburg had mentioned.

Justice Ginsburg voiced her support for a moratorium on the death penalty and criticized the inadequate funding available for those who represent poor people. "People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty," said Ginsburg. "I have yet to see a death case among the dozens coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial." 

"Our system of justice works best when opposing positions are well represented and fully aired," she reportedly said.

The discussion on the award of capital punishment is age-old. Amnesty International, in a statement, says "it opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The organization campaigns for total abolition of capital punishment. Proponents put forward a number of arguments for retaining the death penalty, including that it is necessary for an effective criminal justice system. However, these arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. One often cited argument is that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to serious crimes. In reality, there is no evidence that the death penalty is a stronger deterrent against crime than custodial sentences."

According to the 2012 report of Amnesty International, at least 582 executions were known to have been carried in 21 countries. However, these figures do not include the thousands of people who were believed to have been executed in China. Since its 2009 report, Amnesty International stopped publishing its estimates on the use of the death penalty in China, where such data are considered a state secret. The report says : "Amnesty International renews its challenge to the Chinese authorities to publish figures for the number of people sentenced to death and executed each year, to confirm their claims that there has been a significant reduction in the use of the death penalty in the country since 2007". The total number of people sentenced to death was at least 1,722 in 58 countries in 2012.

11th World Day Against the Death Penalty was observed on October 10, 2013.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, formed in 2003, is an alliance of more than 140 NGOs, bar associations, local authorities and unions with the ultimate aim of the universal abolition of the death penalty. The organisation helps activists worldwide to unite and participate in the struggle for universal abolition of the death penalty. The coalition believes that "No state should have the power to take a citizen’s life."

Capital punishment or the death penalty violates the principle of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to life and that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." It is also against the spirit of three resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly - in December 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012 - seeking a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.