The Abolishment of the Death Penalty, an Interview with Shelly Saini
Hello readers, today I have a very special post for you all. Today I am posting my first interview! I am interviewing Shelly Saini, a young lady I have known since I was in middle school. She is currently studying at The University of San Fransisco School of Law and does advocacy work for “Human Rights Advocates”. This advocacy work involved writing a report on the death penalty which eventually saw Shelly being invited to speak at the United Nations in Geneva Switzerland. As I consider myself to be a pro liberty individual I believe that the death penalty is immoral as it robs a person of their life. Now there are many issues that Shelly and I disagree on but one of the issues we do agree on is the death penalty, we both believe it is immoral. I don’t want this to be any sort of debate but rather reaching out to an ally on this issue. It is important for us to fight together when more liberty for humanity can be gained. One last thing before we get started, if you are a new reader here stopping by I want to extend a warm and open armed welcome to you along with a thank you. And without further ado, the first of what I hope to be many more interviews on Coffee Break Liberty.
Leo Sowers: Hello Shelly, thank you for agreeing to do this. I was hoping you would be able to give my readers a quick summary on the report you did for “Humans Rights Advocates”.
Shelly Saini: Hello, Leo. Thank you for inviting me to this interview. I’m happy to be doing this and to answer questions for you and your readers. So the report I wrote on behalf of the Human Rights Advocates (HRA) is on the death penalty throughout the world. The report covers the status of the death penalty, methods of execution, the death row phenomenon, and moratoriums. The purpose of the report was intended for my participation in the Death Penalty Panel held at the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland and to lobby for complete abolition of the death penalty to the delegates attending the United Nations (UN). My report is essentially showing that although there are countries moving towards the abolition of the death penalty, there are still issues among some of those countries. For example, moratoriums on the death penalty, which have been consistently posed as a solution to move towards abolition, do not actually lead towards the abolition of the death penalty. Pakistan is a perfect example. In 2014, Pakistan lifted its moratorium on the death penalty for terror-related crimes and then in 2015 lifted its 6-year moratorium on all civilians for capital cases. This has resulted in 326 executions. My point is that solely changing laws or placing moratoriums on the death penalty are insufficient. Countries need to directly move to the abolition of the death penalty rather than having a moratorium, which allows a country to decide when the death penalty can still be applied.
LS: When did you realize you wanted to be involved in a group like the “Human Rights Advocates”, what inspired you?
SS: During my time at USF, I applied and was admitted into the International Human Rights Clinic in 2016 so as a member of the clinic you also become a member of the HRA. It was because of HRA sponsoring students in the clinic to speak on their behalf at the UN that allowed me to even be there. As for what inspired me, I have always wanted to have experience in international human rights law and see what the realities are to advocate for larger communities and to understand international laws. HRA was a perfect non-governmental organization to be a part of since they allow law students to be their representatives at the United Nations and they are very persistent in creating change where change is needed.
LS: Tell us about the invite to the UN. Was it at all expected? Do you see yourself being invited again?
SS: I felt very honored and privileged to attend the Human Rights Council at the UN. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew I would be nervous and frazzled. It took me a few days to understand the process of how the UN functions. How it works is that there is a big meeting room with seats for delegates of every country and that meeting room is in session from 9 AM – 6 PM throughout the weeks that the 34th Session is active. As the big meeting room discusses topics there are also side events going on throughout the day that are hosted by either delegates or NGOs to discuss topics of their choice. These side events are powerful because I was able to lobby delegates about my position on the death penalty and have more intimate conversations with some of them. I attended many meetings on topics like torture, war on drugs, human trafficking, and cultural rights. It was great to be among people advocating for justice and demanding change. I hope to see myself invited one day again to the UN whether that is concerning the death penalty or any other human rights issue.
LS: In your your original write up you pointed out that several pharmaceutical companies had begun a policy of no longer manufacturing the drugs used in the lethal injections. Has this move had an impact on the death sentences carried out in nations that use the method? Also, do you feel that this action taken by this a firms a positive way the free market can try and combat this issue?
SS: Pharmaceutical companies have begun placing limitations on how their drugs can be used and this has absolutely had an impact on carrying out death sentences. For example, in places like the United States, the majority of states with the death penalty only allow lethal injections as the “appropriate” means for killing a death row inmate. If a state isn’t able to find a company that is suitable to supply the lethal injection, then the death sentence cannot be performed. I love that there are companies taking a stand on the death penalty because it shows advocacy in different forms and exemplifies other things the free market can do.
LS: In the United States what are the largest challenges you see ahead in your goal to abolish the death penalty?
SS: I do believe that abolition of the death penalty will happen but it requires educating voters and getting them to vote. In this past election in California, we had the opportunity to get rid of the death penalty but it didn’t happen. From what I saw, either people were confused because of the conflicting ballot measures concerning the death penalty or people didn’t care to vote. I do believe that abolition of the death penalty will happen but it is educating voters and getting them to vote that will slow down the process. As for federal abolishment of the death penalty, I don’t even know where things are headed under this current administration and it’s upsetting so I can’t say much on that.
LS: Thank you so much for your time Shelly. Before I let ya go a few more questions. What is next for you in this battle and where can my readers go to learn more about what you and the “Human Rights Advocates” are up to and how to help out? Is there a place where my readers can get a hold of the paper you wrote too?
SS: For me personally, my next step is to become a public defender and I hope to provide zealous representation from the start of criminal proceedings. I will also be more inclined to be politically involved to abolish the death penalty by continuing to support the League of Women Voters and other groups pushing towards abolition.
My report can be found on the Human Rights Advocates website. Here
In my concluding thoughts I want to make sure I drive this point home to my readers. When we find an ally in liberty we support them. Shelly and I both believe the death penalty to be immoral, this is one of those fights where we can and SHOULD work with those that we might disagree with on other issues. Fighting these kind of fights alone makes it that much harder. In this fight for liberty we need to take every advantage we can get. This fight to get us closer and closer toward liberty is not and will not be an easy one but it is a fight we have to be willing to engage in. Finally I would like to again thank Shelly Saini for this privilege to interview her. And to all the new readers I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for stopping by and I hope you will make Coffee Break Liberty a place where you would enjoy visiting on the internet.
Thank you for reading and please don’t forget to like and share!
Keep that coffee warm for us.
LWS
