The Danish Medical Group Againsth the Death Penalty
Professional medical group
The Danish Medical Group Against the Death Penalty has worked against the death penalty on an international scale since 1982. Being the only one of its kind, the group has had a great impact in several countries, putting pressure on authorities, medical associations and the pharma industry all over the world.
History of the group
Since 1981 the Danish Medical Group Against the Death Penalty has been part of a movement to end the use of the death penalty.
The Danish Medical Group Against the Death Penalty has worked against the death penalty on an international scale since 1982. Being the only one of its kind, the group has had a great impact in several countries, putting pressure on authorities, medical associations and the pharmaceutical industry all over the world.
The Danish Medical Group Against the Death Penalty was established in 1981 as a subsection of Amnesty International’s Danish Medical Group in accordance with a proposal from Amnesty’s International Secretariat in London. The purpose of The Danish Medical Group Against the Death Penalty is:
- to prevent medical participation in the death penalty, in executions, and in organ transplantation from executed prisoners.
- to draw public attention to the fact that physicians are active parties to the passing of death sentences and participate in executions.
- to prevent the execution of mentally disabled people and people with severe psychiatric illness.
- to draw attention to the fact that the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman form of punishment that violates the right to life.
The group is the only medical group of its kind in Amnesty International and works together with Amnesty’s International Secretariat in London. The main target groups are authorities nationally and internationally, medical organizations, individual colleagues, pharmaceutical companies, and the general public. You can read about the purpose of the group here (in danish).
The group consists of 5 to 10 members, three of whom have been members for the entire period. All members of the group are medical doctors, although other medical personnel previously have taken part in the work. A list of the members is available.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, read more about our two medical groups here (in danish).
Written: 2020-06-04 Lars Bønløkke
2025: Highest number in 44 years
At least 2,707 people were executed across 17 countries in 2025. It is the highest known number of executions in 44 years.
Death sentences and executions in 2025
Every year we publish our report on death sentences and executions globally.
The work and purpose of the group
The groups raison d’être is the abolishment of the death penalty on a general level and preventing physicians and other health professionals from participating in the death penalty on a specific level. To achieve this goal the group works in a range of different ways, such as letter writing and raising media-awareness.
Country specific information
All over the world doctors and other health personnel participate in executions due to their profession-specific knowledge. This happens in as different countries as the US and Saudi Arabia, Japan and Uganda. 53 countries in the world have the death penalty. The Danish Medical Group has chosen to focus on a handful of these countries, and you can learn more about these countries in this section.
Resolutions against capital punishment
Resolutions and policies are the medical associations’ possibility to take a stand on a policy field. Over the years many national as well as international medical associations have chosen to do so in relation to capital punishment. On this site you will find some of the most important.
The medical execution and medical assistance at executions
In 1977, Oklahoma Medical Examiner, Dr. A. Jay Chapman, marched into the Oklahoma Statehouse and dictated the formula for a cocktail of three drugs to a lawmaker looking for a more humane way to execute prisoners.
As Chapman spoke, Rep. Bill Wiseman scribbled on a legal yellow pad. That afternoon, Wiseman introduced the bill that made Oklahoma the first state to adopt “lethal injection”, the medical execution killing prisoners with medicine.
Death penalty and mental illness
Many countries have a Mental Health Law that includes a wide variety of legal topics and pertain to people with a diagnosis or possible diagnosis of mental illness. Laws relating to mental illness may include criminal laws, including laws governing fitness for trial or execution.
Doctors involved
Jakob Mertz
Birger Aaen-Larsen
Lars Bønløkke
Marianne Kastrup
Niels Ingerslev
Information and contact
For more information about the group and its work, please contact the coordinator
Erik Sørensen: esoerensen@amnesty.dk