3. Launch independent investigations into cases alleging coerced confessions; juvenility; mental illnesses or developmental or intellectual disabilities The cases and documentation reviewed illuminate how the lack of procedural safeguards at the outset—mental health and juvenility determinations, for instance—compound violations throughout a defendant's trial, sentencing, and death row confinement. Robust investigations, coupled with effective avenues for post-conviction relief, are crucial if justice is to be served. Because of the lack of transparency and independence of the judiciary and other branches of the government, this report recommends that independent actors conduct the investigations. The National Human Rights Commission a statutory body constituted under the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2012 would be an ideal platform to lead such an investigation. 4. Commute death sentences of all juveniles and individuals with mental illness, as well as those with convictions based primarily on circumstantial evidence or coerced confessions. Pakistan should commute the death sentences of all those who have made showings of juvenility and mental illness, including those whose mental health has deteriorated significantly on death row. Because the death sentence demands a high standard of proof, Pakistan should also commute cases for individuals whose convictions were based primarily on confessions, in recognition of the high prevalence of custodial torture and the inadequate safeguards currently in place. A “MOST SERIOUS CRIME”: PAKISTAN'S UNLAWFUL USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY 41