Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty
A new perspective in working towards the abolishment of the death penalty
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
10:00-11:00 am EDT/UTC-4
Virtual event live from House of Sweden
A convergence of events has put the movement to abolish capital punishment in a new spotlight. In the last year, we have seen an unprecedented series of federal executions, the reinstatement of the federal moratorium and the state of Virginia becoming the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment. Furthermore, as the global cost of the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow, governments have been forced to rethink what they spend on law enforcement and criminal justice. This includes the death penalty, which is not only irreversible, and increasingly unpopular, but also the most expensive and least effective form of punishment.
Until now, business has been largely absent from the debate, but as corporate human rights advocacy intensifies across the globe, vocal business opposition to the death penalty has grown. Overall, the world has been moving towards ending the death penalty. More than 170 UN Member States have abolished it in law or practice - including nearly all European countries and most of the Western hemisphere. In the US, polling shows, for the first time, that most Americans support alternative punishments for murder. The stage is set to create meaningful change, and international business support for abolishing the death penalty can help move the needle further.
Join us for a virtual expert conversation about new perspectives in working towards the abolishment of the death penalty, how the business community can get involved, the Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty campaign and which lessons we can learn from Virginia.
WELCOMING REMARKS
Karin Olofsdotter, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States
Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States
SPEAKERS
Celia Ouellette, CEO, Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (Moderator)
Matthias Stausberg, Group Advocacy Director, Virgin
Laura Porter, Executive Director, 8th Amendment Project
This event is co-hosted by the Embassy of Sweden and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice and is part of the Embassy's series of Democracy Talks. #democracytalk