“I oppose the death penalty because it is cruel and disproportionately impacts people and communities of color. We can build a more just future by ending the death penalty and reforming our broken criminal justice system.”

Sheryl Sandberg is the former COO of Meta and the Founder of LeanIn.org.

“The death penalty fails at every turn: it doesn’t deter crime, it’s racist, it’s wasteful and it kills innocent people. Even capital punishment’s most ardent supporters are realizing how indefensible it is.”

Werner Baumann is the former CEO and Chairman and of Bayer

"As we emerge from the pandemic, it’s more critical than ever that business leaders demonstrate a strong moral compass and show courage in the fight against racism, cruelty and oppression. By speaking out against the death penalty, we wholeheartedly embrace that responsibility.”

Paul Polman is a business leader and campaigner, and was CEO of Unilever from 2009-2019.

“Business leaders are major contributors to the global economy and we need to step up and use our voices to create systemic change. The death penalty needs to end, and we need to be part of making that happen.”

Merck Mercuriadis is the Founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund.

“Business leaders need to do more than just say Black Lives Matter. They need to walk the talk and be instrumental in tearing down all the symbols of structural racism in our society. The death penalty has a long history with oppression and it needs to end. Now.”

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.

“As business leaders, we should feel compelled to speak out against injustice - especially with such profoundly inhumane practices as capital punishment. I urge my peers to join us in the campaign to confine it to history.”

Andrew N. Liveris is the former Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical and the Founder of the Liveris Academy for Leadership and Innovation.

"I'm joining the business leaders who are lending their support to campaigners and advocates at this historic moment — a moment when we can end this inhumane practice that targets minorities, the poor, and those suffering from mental illness.”

Arianna Huffington is the Founder and CEO of Thrive Global and Co-founder of The Huffington Post.

“The death penalty has no place in our global society.”

Hubert Joly is the former Chairman & CEO of Best Buy and a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School.

“The death penalty, in all of its oppressive cruelty, should have been confined to history a long time ago. Yet it persists around the world - including right here in ASEAN. We must do everything in our power to end it, and I am proud to join the business voices speaking out against this barbaric law.”

Tony Fernandes is the Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Group and the Chairman and Founder of Tune Group.

“Eliminating the death penalty is a moral imperative in its own right. And when the taking of life is compounded by the knowledge of innocents being handed such a sentence, it is even more horrific.”

Alan Jope is the former CEO of Unilever.

“The death penalty is a brutal and discriminatory institution that must be confined to history. I’m proud to join the global business leaders working to make capital punishment a relic of a crueller past.”

Sandro Salsano is the Chairman of the Salsano Family Office and the President of Salsano Group.

“No evidence exists to support the idea that capital punishment makes people safer. In fact, it makes them less safe. The only justification that remains is retribution, which is no justification at all for killing another human being, particularly as it has been so unevenly applied over the years in the United States.”

David W. Crane is the Undersecretary for Infrastructure at the U.S. Department of Energy, the former CEO of Climate Real Impact Solution, and the former CEO and President of NRG.

“Anyone with a voice has a duty to speak out against injustice when they see it. I am proud to use mine to call for an end to the death penalty.”

John Replogle is the Founding Partner of One Better Ventures and the former CEO of Seventh Generation Inc.

"We all have a responsibility to stand up against injustice and fight for a fairer and more beautiful world. Nothing embodies injustice more than the death penalty and I am very proud to sign this declaration and take a lead, with other business leaders, in calling for its abolition.”

Nicolas Debray is the CEO of NOCIBÉ and Former President, Americas, of The Body Shop.

"In any position of leadership, you must speak openly about, and practice, your values. The death penalty in no way reflects my values or those of many other business leaders."

Pedro Parente is the Chairman and former CEO of BRF, a Founding Partner at EB Capital, and the former CEO of Petrobras.

“As we attempt to heal and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic with its terrible loss of life, it feels even more urgent that we focus our attention on a totally preventable source of death and pain. We have to ask ourselves does the death penalty serve a real purpose for us as caring human beings? As someone who took an oath to preserve human life, for me the answer is a resounding no.”

Helene Gayle is the President of Spelman College, former President & CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, and former President & CEO of CARE USA.

“As I have learned more about the death penalty, I have become convinced that its disregard for the value of human life, its potential to execute innocents, its stark racial disparity and its exorbitant cost mean that it has no place in a modern society.”

Jared Smith is the Co-founder of Qualtrics.

“All of us have a responsibility to speak out against injustice, and capital punishment represents one of the most pressing injustices of our time. It’s time to end this barbaric practice that is a stain on humanity.”

Dr. Mo Ibrahim is the Founder of Mobile Systems International and Celtel. He is the Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Limited and the Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

“I believe that there’s no justification for executing someone. It’s essential that business leaders have the courage to speak loudly and often about the things we believe in.”

Martha Lane Fox is the Chair of WeTransfer. She is a Director at Chanel. She is also the Chancellor of the Open University.

“The more I’ve learned about the US justice system, the more screwed up I’ve come to realize it is. The death penalty is one of the worst components of this: our screwed up system results in people getting executed. Surely this has to end.”

Mike Novogratz is the Founder and CEO, Galaxy Digital.

“The death penalty has no place in modern society, and I am proud to lend my voice in support of abolition at this crucial moment.”

Alessandro Bogliolo is the former CEO of Tiffany & Co.

"Sustainable businesses must be agents of transformation and take into account all stakeholders. For too long the death penalty has been used ineffectively, not addressing the root causes of crime. I believe that it's right for business leaders to speak up and speak out about this practice that is so harmful to our communities."

Guilherme Leal is the Co-founder & Co-chair of Natura & Co and the Co-founder Instituto Ethos.

“The movement to end the death penalty is becoming an unstoppable force built by the tireless efforts of advocates, activists, lawyers and other leaders who have dedicated their lives to ending this barbaric practice. At the center are heroes like Anthony Ray Hinton, an innocent man who was held on death row in a 5x8 foot cell for close to thirty years due to a racially biased, unjust legal system. This is the moment for business leaders to step up to join the movement to end the death penalty forever.”

Jean Oelwang is the President and Founding CEO of Virgin Unite and the former Co-CEO Virgin Mobile Australia.

"It is important for all of us to have the courage to find our voices and speak out against injustices like the death penalty. As my friend Archbishop Tutu said, ‘there is no justice in killing in the name of justice.’”

Strive Masiyiwa is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group.

“The death penalty stands against everything we strive for as a society: fairness, equality, compassion and justice. By getting rid of it we can take a profound step into a more optimistic future.”

Bert Jacobs is the CEO of LIFE IS GOOD.

"There's a famous saying that we're all entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts -- and the objective facts tell us that the death penalty is inextricably tied to race in America. The day we end the death penalty once and for all will be one day closer to social and economic justice for our country.”

Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners.

“Once you have met someone who was innocent and sent to death row - as I have - it is impossible to do anything other than crusade to end capital punishment. I challenge anyone who is not opposed to the death penalty to ask themselves the question, ‘what percentage of innocent people is it okay to execute?’”

Jason Flom is the CEO of Lava Media.

“The death penalty is barbaric. It has no place in the US justice system.”

Scott Budnick is the CEO of One Community, Founder of The Anti-Recidivism Coalition, and the Executive Producer of the film Just Mercy.

“The death penalty is inhumane and is not the solution. If we want to make progress on fixing the criminal justice system, we need to move from a system of corporal ‘punishment’ to one focused on reform."

Anne Wojcicki is the Co-Founder and CEO of 23andMe, Inc.

"I have been involved in the abolition movement for many years. The death penalty does not work: it does not deter crime, it risks executing the innocent, it is racially biased and a waste of taxpayer money. I am proud to join this movement of business leaders calling for an end to this outdated and ineffective form of punishment."

Nick McKeown is a Professor at Stanford University.

“It is beholden on everyone to call out injustice when they see it. By signing this declaration, business leaders are calling out the death penalty, which represents one of the most profound institutionalized injustices in our global society. I’m proud to join them.”

Miles Dally is the Founder of Panache Group Investments and former CEO of RCL FOODS.

"About 4% of people sentenced to death are innocent. So whatever the death penalty means in theory, in practice it means killing innocent people."

Paul Graham is the Founder of Y Combinator.