World Day Against the Death Penalty 2026: 24th Edition, ‘Stories for Life’
Why in the news
The 24th World Day Against the Death Penalty is being observed on 10 October 2026 under the theme ‘Stories for Life’, which runs as a campaign until 10 October 2027.
Key facts
- Date: observed every year on 10 October.
- Organiser: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP).
- Theme focus: telling the stories of people whose voices are often ignored, to show that the death penalty affects real human lives.
- The campaign highlights factors such as poverty, discrimination, trauma, mental health issues and gender-based violence that can push people into conflict with the law.
- It also flags suffering from long periods on death row, which may amount to torture.
- Death row: at least 25,508 people were known to be under sentence of death at the end of 2025.
- Top five executing states in 2023: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the USA.
Global status of the death penalty (Amnesty International data)
| Category | Number of states |
|---|---|
| Abolitionist for all crimes | 113 |
| Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only | 9 |
| Abolitionist in practice | 23 |
| Retentionist | 54 |
About the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
The WCADP coordinates the World Day each year and works towards universal abolition of capital punishment. Its campaign involves victims’ families, people sentenced to death, lawyers, judges, prison staff and communities.
Exam angle
- Remember the date (10 October), edition (24th) and theme (‘Stories for Life’).
- Top executing states in 2023 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the USA.
- Know the abolitionist/retentionist breakdown: 113 and 54.