remains on the statute book, it is the job of prison staff to fulfil their duties with sympathy and understanding for all parties involved. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS These should be presented in the same manner, allowing time for discussion and comment but not permitting a debate to develop on the question of capital punishment. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A list of topics is provided in the Manual. Methodology: The trainees should be divided into small groups for discussion. Each group should be given two topics to discuss and report its findings at the end of the session. This is stressful material. Prison staff in some jurisdictions may have to deal with such situations on a regular basis; others will never have experienced them. The instruments clearly encourage the abolition of the death penalty. Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion: 39. – Prisoners under sentence of death need access to materials and personnel associated with a legal appeal; 39. – Such prisoners should be allowed sensitive contact with their families and friends; 39. – Such prisoners should not have to endure an excessively restrictive environment because of the seriousness of their situation; 39. – Cruel or inhuman treatment of prisoners held under sentence of death would include the absence of information relating to their case or the progress of their appeal; confinement in very sparsely appointed accommodation on a so-called “death row”; restricted access to family and friends; and insensitive visiting facilities, e.g. a lack of privacy; 39. – Prison staff assigned to work with prisoners under sentence of death should receive training to prepare them for the difficulties and special requirements of the task. They also need considerable support to cope with this uniquely onerous task; 39. – Medical staff have a duty to care for their patients’ health and well-being; the fact that their patients are prisoners is irrelevant. This means that they cannot be involved in administering the death penalty; 39. – There is a particularly unwelcome task for the authorities in a jurisdiction that allows the death penalty: the act usually has to be witnessed by the elected or appointed person in charge to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with the statutes, and also to ensure that the prisoner is dead at the end of it; 39. – In addition, members of the prisoner’s family may be seen as having a right to attend; 39. – Anyone nominated by the prisoner, outside his or her immediate family, may also have a right to attend, e.g. a church or religious group; or perhaps no one at all, if that is the prisoner’s wish; 39. – The victim’s family may claim a right to be present; 148