Executions are on the decline as more countries abandon capital punishment by law or in practice. Despite this, 657 executions were recorded last year. That’s 657 too many.
Vincent Soligbo’s clients are lucky. This capital defence attorney has represented people facing the death sentence in Nigeria pro bono. He has interacted with people on death row since 2013, discovering that most of them — at the time of prosecution and even after conviction — were never afforded the constitutional right to proper legal representation. Many could not afford the services of a lawyer to appeal their conviction, and were subsequently executed by hanging.
What he observed is not an isolated phenomenon. In many countries, people are arrested, detained, and in some cases evenuntil they confess to crimes — all without a lawyer by their side. Many people cannot afford to pay a lawyer. This violates the most basic tenet of criminal justice systems: the accused are innocent until proven guilty.