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10 October: Abolition of the Death Penalty
Rene Wadlow
十月十日：世界反死刑日
瑞內瓦德羅
“I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death. I am not on his pay-roll. I will not tell him the whereabouts of my friends nor of my enemies either.” Edna St Vincent Millay
「我將死去，但這是我將為死亡所作的唯一一件事。我不在他的薪資名單上。我不會告訴他我朋友的下落，也不會告訴他我的人的下落。」美國抒情詩人Edna St Vincent Millay
10 October is the International Day Against the Death Penalty, set by the United Nations General Assembly. Since the end of World War II, there has been a gradual abolition of the death penalty with the rather obvious recognition that death is not justice. In some countries, executions have been suspended in practice but laws allowing executions remain; in other cases there has been a legal abolition.
十月十日是聯合國大會訂定的世界反死刑日。自從二次世界大戰結束，世界各國便逐一廢除死刑，也愈來愈普遍承認死亡並非正義。部分國家暫停執行死刑但是允許死刑的法律仍然存在，有些國家則透過法律廢除死刑。
The clear words of the American poet Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972) have been a credo for those of us who have opposed executions on moral grounds:
This is a man
He is a poor creature
You are not to kill him
This is a man
He has a hard time
Upon the earth
You are not to kill him.
美國詩人Kenneth Patchen（1911～1972）精闢的話語一直是因為道德考量反對死刑者的信條：
「這是個人
他是個可憐的傢伙
你不得殺他
這是個人
他在這世間
經歷了一些艱困的歲月
你不得殺他」
There are also those who oppose the death penalty on the practical grounds that it has little impact on the rate of killing in society.
也有人因為務實的考量反對死刑，認為死刑對於社會中的謀殺率沒有顯著的影響。
10 October can also be a day to oppose all organized killings. In addition to State-sponsored official executions, often carried out publicly or at least with official observers, a good number of countries have state-sponsored “death squads” — persons affiliated to the police or intelligence agencies who kill “in the dark of the night” — unofficially. These deaths avoid a trial which might attract attention or even a “not guilty” decision. A shot in the back of the head is faster. The number of “targeted killings” has grown. In many cases, the bodies of those killed are destroyed and so death is supposed but not proved. This is what the United Nations called “enforced or involuntary disappearances.” Attacks by drones are also a form of State-organized executions without trial or the possibility of appeal.
十月十日也可以是反對所有 組織性謀殺的日子。除了國家出資、通常公開執行或至少有官方監測員的官方處決以外，許多國家尚有國家出資的「刺殺小組」──與警方或情治單位關係密切、在「暗夜中」行刺者。這類的謀殺迴避了可能引起注意甚至判決無罪的審判。朝著後腦勺開一槍快多了。鎖定狙殺的數量上升，這類死者的屍體多半遭到毀棄，因此無法證明其死亡；聯合國稱之為「強制或非志願的失蹤」。無人駕駛飛機所執行的攻擊也是國家出資、未經審判或無上訴可能之處決的一種形式。
There is also a growth in non-governmental targeted killings. Attention has focused recently on the drug-trade-related death of Mexico’s “drug lords”. These groups of organized crime have many of the negative attributes of States. Their opponents are designated for killing and executed by those on the pay-roll of death. These groups are not limited to Mexico. In addition, there are a good number of countries where non-governmental guerrilla groups exist and carry out executions.
非政府執行的 鎖定狙殺數量也在成長。最近聚焦墨西哥毒梟的因毒品貿易而引發的謀殺。這些犯罪組織對國家帶來多重的負面影響，其敵人被指名並遭處決；而這類團體並不侷限於墨西哥。此外，還有許多國家仍有非政府游擊隊，這些游擊隊也執行處決。
Thus our efforts against executions need to be addressed both to governments and to those State-like non-governmental armed groups. The abolition of executions and the corresponding valuation of human life are necessary steps to building a just society. As the late Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations wrote in his essay The Right Not to Kill “In every epoch of history there are a few exceptional human beings who are blessed with a correct vision of the place of the human person on earth. This vision is always basically the same:
我們反對處決的訴求必須訴諸政府也訴諸這些近似政府的非政府武裝團體。廢除死刑以及人命價值的衡量是建立社會公義的必要步驟。已故的前聯合國助理秘書長Robert Muller在他的文章《不殺的權利》中寫道，歷史上的每個時代都有一小群人對於人類在世間的存在位置有著正確的見解，這類見解基本上都一樣：
It recognizes the oneness and supremacy of the human family, irrespective of color, sex, creed, nation or any other distinctive characteristics;
人類家族的團結一致與至高地位，不分膚色、性別、信仰、國集或任何其他特質差異；
It recognizes each individual human being as a unique miracle of divine origin, a cosmos of his own, never to be repeated again in all eternity;
每個人都是來自神聖起源的獨特奇蹟，是一個屬於自己的和諧體系，在永恆的時間長河中獨一無二的存在；
It rejects all violence as being contrary to the sanctity and the uniqueness of life, and advocates love, tolerance, truth, cooperation and reverence for life as the only civilized means of achieving a peaceful and happy society;
反對一切違反生命神聖性與獨特性的暴力，宣揚愛、寬容、真理、合作以及尊重生命，是讓社會和平、喜樂唯一的文明手段；
It preaches love and care for our beautiful and so diverse planet in the fathomless universe;
宣揚對於深不可測的宇宙當中這顆美麗而多元的星球予以關愛與呵護。
It sees each human life and society as part of an eternal stream of time and ever ascending evolution;
每個人的生命與每個社會都是時間長河與演進的一部份。
It recognizes that the ultimate mysteries of life, time and the universe will forever escape the human mind and therefore bends in awe and humility before these mysteries and God;
生命、時間與宇宙的終極秘密將永遠不被人類思維所揭開，所以我們應在這些秘密與上天的面前保持敬畏與謙卑；
It advocates gratitude and joy for the privilege of being admitted to the banquet of life;
對於自身被賦予參加生命饗宴的機會充滿感激與喜樂；
It preaches hope, faith, optimism and a deep commitment to the moral and ethical virtues of peace and justice distilled over eons of time as the foundations for further human ascent.”
宣揚希望、信念、樂觀，以及對於經過萬古時光洗鍊而出的和平與正義之道德及倫理美德的承諾，是人類更長遠的演進之基礎。
Muller went on to add “We must restore optimism and continue to sharpen our inborn instincts for life, for the positive, foe self-preservation, for survival and human fulfilment at ever higher levels of consciousness. We must conquer the duality, the negative, the suicidal. These all contain dangerous self-finding processes of destruction. We must turn instead to the mysterious self-generation powers of hope, creative thinking, love, life affirmation and faith.”
Muller並補充道：「我們必須重拾樂觀，並在更高的良心標準下，持續歷練我們對於生命、正向價值、錯誤的自我防衛、生存以及人類成就之本能與直覺。我們必須征服二元性、負面價值，以及自我毀滅。這些都可能帶來危險的自我毀滅。我們必須轉向自我創造，創造更多希望、發想、愛、肯定生命以及信念。
Thus, as we mark on 10 October our opposition to the death penalty, let us stress the dignity of all persons and the strength of the affirmation of life.
因此，當我們在十月十日這一天彰顯我們對死刑的反對立場的同時，讓我們也再次強調每一個人的尊嚴，以及肯定生命的力量。
Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens
世界公民總會主席 瑞內‧瓦德羅
翻譯：中華人權協會專案秘書 王詩菱