Richard Branson Forms CEO Campaign Against the Death Penalty

Richard Branson at the Global Commission for Drugs Policy
(Image source: Chatham House - wikimedia | CC BY 2.0)
Reading Time:
< 1
 minutes
Posted: March 19, 2021
CEO Today
Last Updated 21st October 2024
Share this article
In this Article

The heads of 19 major companies are calling on world governments to end executions globally, with a focus on the US.

Nineteen company founders and CEOs led by Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson have declared their opposition to the death penalty, urging other business leaders to join their campaign to abolish the practice internationally.

The group released a letter on Thursday outlining their stance and calling for the support of their peers.

“The death penalty is broken beyond repair and plainly fails to deliver justice by every reasonable measure,” Branson said. “It is marred by cruelty, waste, ineffectiveness, discrimination and an unacceptable risk of error. By speaking out at this crucial moment, business leaders have an opportunity to help end this inhumane and flawed practice.”

Branson’s declaration to end the death penalty has already been signed by nineteen other prominent business leaders.

Signatories thus far include Ben and Jerry’s co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Huffington Post co-founder Ariana Huffington, Mobile Systems International founder Mo Ibrahim, Vista Equity Partners founder Robert Smith, 23andMe CEO Anna Wojcicki and Tiffany & Co CEO Alessandro Bogliolo.

The campaign will spend the next seven months canvassing for further support from global business leaders, with an updated list of the pledge’s signatories to be unveiled on World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October.

[ymal]

According to the United Nations, 170 of its 193 member countries have already abolished or declared a moratorium on the practice of state-sponsored executions.

The US is one of the few member nations that has not abolished the death penalty, though support is at an all-time low. 55% of Americans still support the practice for convicted murderers, according to a 2020 Gallup poll, while 43% of independents said it should be abolished.

Free CEO Today Newsletter
Subscribe to CEO Today for the latest news every week.

About CEO Today

CEO Today Online and CEO Today magazine are dedicated to providing CEOs and C-level executives with the latest corporate developments, business news and technological innovations.
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram