Switzerland 'deeply concerned' by Trump's death penalty order

Switzerland has told the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council that it is "deeply concerned" by US President Donald Trump's recent executive order to strengthen capital punishment at federal and state level. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "The death penalty runs counter to human rights," Tim Enderlin, Head of the Peace and Human Rights Division at the Swiss foreign ministry, told the council on Monday. He pointed out that there was no evidence to show that the death penalty had a "deterrent effect" against crime, compared with longer prison sentences. Following his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order committing to pursue federal death sentences and pledging to ensure that states have sufficient supplies of lethal injection drugs for executions. His predecessor Joe Biden had declared a moratorium on federal executions. The executive order promises that Trump’s attorney general will seek capital punishment for “all crimes of a ...