Harvard Conference Confronts Death Penalty

The Harvard Human Rights Journal recently held its annual conference, and the theme was "The United States and Human Rights: Bringing Rights Home." The conference featured speakers from the world of academia as well as advocates and activists. John Holdridge, Director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project, participated on a panel called "Recognizing Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment."

John highlighted the problems with the United States capital punishment system, noting its racial, geographic and economic biases. He also discussed the cruel and unusual nature of the punishment due to the conditions in which death row inmates are forced to await their executions and the length of time they are made to endure them. This panel dealt with similar issues pointed out in the CERD Report.