{
  "id": 13327267,
  "title": "[COVER STORY] After interviewing 42 death row inmates, researcher believes capital punishment should end",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/cover-story-after-interviewing-42-death-row-inmates-researcher-13327267",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T04:57:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20261010/cover-story-after-interviewing-42-death-row-inmates-researcher-believes-capital-punishment-should-end"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A researcher who spoke with 42 death row inmates in Korea believes that capital punishment should be abolished. For years prior to 1997, inmates faced execution every weekday between 6 and 9 a.m., only to feel relief if the day's execution did not occur. Since December 30, 1997, no one has been executed, but 56 individuals remain on death row, 52 within Ministry of Justice correctional facilities and four in military prisons. Kim Dae-keun, a researcher at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, interviewed the 42 inmates. Most expressed shame, distress, or regret over their actions. Although many were once brutal and frightening, the inmates interviewed by Kim were now older and frail. October 10 marks World Day Against the Death Penalty, an international observance advocating for the abolition of executions as a judicial punishment. In Korea, the day arrives with capital punishment still legal, but widely considered unenforceable. Most inmates now believe that executions will not resume, despite the law remaining in place.",
  "summary": "Every weekday before 1997, death row inmates in Korea braced themselves between 6 and 9 a.m. — the hours when executions could happen. If 9 a.m. passed uneventfully, they felt relief. Then they went to sleep wondering if the next morning would be their last. No one has been executed since Dec. 30, 1997, but 56 people remain on death row — 52 in Ministry of Justice correctional facilities and four…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "After interviewing 42 death row inmates, researcher believes capital punishment should end",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/after-interviewing-42-death-row-inmates-researcher-believes-capital",
        "published": "2026-10-09T22:07:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}