Capital punishment by country

src: 40chtv.com

The following is a summary of the use of capital punishment by country.

Video Capital punishment by country

Global overview

Historically, capital punishment has been used in almost every part of the world. Currently, the large majority of countries have either abolished or discontinued the practice. The U.S. is the most developed country to use the death penalty. The use of capital punishment is usually divided into the four categories set out below. As of November 2017, of the 195 independent states that are UN members or have UN observer status:

• 54 retain it in both law and practice.
• 29 have abolished it de facto, namely, according to Amnesty International standards, that they have not executed anyone during the last decade or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.
• 7 have abolished it de facto, namely that they have not executed anyone during the last 14 or more years and have abolished it de jure, but retain it for exceptional or special circumstances (such as crimes committed in wartime).
• 105 have abolished it for all crimes, most recently: Madagascar (2015), Fiji (2015), Republic of the Congo (2015), Suriname (2015), Nauru (2016), Benin (2016), Mongolia (2017), Guinea (2017), Burkina Faso (2018).

Execution of minors

Since 2009, Iran and Saudi Arabia have executed offenders who were under the age of 18 (or 21) at the time the crime was committed.

Public execution

In 2013, public executions were carried out by the governments of Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia.

Extrajudicial execution

In some countries the practice of extrajudicial execution outside their own formal legal frameworks occurs sporadically or systematically. Information on this is not covered in this article.

Countries categorized as 'very high' on Human Development Index

Of the countries/regions categorized as 'very high' on the Human Development Index, 8 countries perform capital punishment: the United States, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Taiwan. In South Korea and Russia, there is a moratorium. Qatar and Brunei have a moratorium in practice. In Israel and Chile, it can only be used for crimes committed in wartime.

Africa

In Africa, there are several countries that use the death penalty. Chad abolished the death penalty in 2014, but reintroduced it for acts of terrorism in 2015. Botswana and Nigeria are examples of countries that still execute people. Most recently, Burkina Faso repealed the death penalty in 2018. In 2018, The Gambia announced a moratorium as a first step toward abolition.

Americas

In the Caribbean countries, the death penalty exists at least de jure, except in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which abolished it in 1966 and 1987, respectively. The last execution in the Caribbean, and the last in the Americas outside the United States, was in Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2008. In Central and South America, the death penalty exists in Belize and Guyana, though it has not been used for years. In Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru, the death penalty is only legal in exceptional/special circumstances such as for crimes committed in wartime and was abolished for other crimes. Opinion polls state sentiment for governments to return to capital punishment remains high in many Caribbean countries and pressure on politicians to retain it factors high.

Asia

Most executions worldwide take place in Asia. China is the world's most active death penalty country. In Iran and Saudi Arabia, the numbers of executions are also very high. In North Korea, the state utilizes the death penalty against high level criminals and those suspected of committing "grave" offenses. Of the 8 countries with a "very high" Human Development Index which practice executions, 7 are in Asia: Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2017 Mongolia repealed the death penalty. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte wants to restore executions, but the proposal to do so failed to pass the Senate. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has stated that he wants to restore capital punishment, but this has not happened. India executes criminals only in extreme cases. Only 26 executions have taken place in India since 1991, the last of the terrorist Yakub Memon in 2015.

Europe

The European Union holds a strong position against the death penalty; its abolition is a key objective for the Union's human rights policy. Abolition is also a pre-condition for entry into the European Union. In Europe, only Belarus and the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic continue to actively use capital punishment.

Russian Federation and former Soviet republics

Russia retains the death penalty in law, but there is a moratorium. The last execution on Russian territory was in Chechnya in 1999. Of the other former Soviet republics, only Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan have not formally abolished capital punishment, and only Belarus uses it in practice. In Kazakhstan, it may only be used in exceptional/special circumstances such as for crimes committed in wartime, and only one individual is on death row.

Oceania

Nearly all countries in this region have abolished the death penalty as a form of punishment, and the two countries that still have it in law (Papua New Guinea and Tonga) have not used it in years. The last known executions in this region took place in Tonga in 1982.

Numbers executed in 2017

At least 23 countries performed executions in 2017:

• Africa (3 countries): Egypt (35+), Somalia (24 [Puntland 12, Federal Government of Somalia 12]), South Sudan (4)
• Americas (1 country): United States (23)
• Asia-Pacific (18 countries): Afghanistan (5), Bahrain (3), Bangladesh (6), China (1,551+), Iran (525+), Iraq (111+), Japan (4), Jordan (15), Kuwait (7), Malaysia (4), North Korea (11+), Pakistan (65+), State of Palestine (6 [Hamas authorities, Gaza]), Saudi Arabia (130+), Singapore (8), Syria (unknown number), United Arab Emirates (1), Vietnam (unknown number), Yemen (2+)
• Europe (1 country): Belarus (2)

Precise numbers are not available for many countries, so the total number of executions is unknown. Other countries like Libya conducted extrajudicial executions.

Maps Capital punishment by country

Capital punishment by continents

Africa

Of the 54 independent states in Africa that are UN members:

• 15 (28%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.
• 18 (33%) permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions, or it is under a moratorium.
• 21 (39%) have abolished it.

Many African countries have carried out no executions for over 10 years, but are not believed to have an abolitionist policy or established practice.

The information above is accurate as of 2017, when Guinea abolished capital punishment. Chad abolished the death penalty in 2014, but restored it for terrorism in 2015.

• In 2017, Egypt was Africa's leading executioner. Libya has conducted extrajudicial executions. This century the following African countries have abolished capital punishment; Ivory Coast (2000), Senegal (2004), Rwanda (2007), Burundi (2009), Togo (2009), Gabon (2010), Congo (2015), Madagascar (2015), Benin (2016), Guinea (2017), and Burkina Faso (2018).

In 2018, The Gambia announced a moratorium as a first step toward abolition.

Executions in Africa in 2017: Egypt (35+), Somalia (24), South Sudan (4)
Note: The tables can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

Americas

Of the 35 independent states in the Americas that are UN members:

• 13 (37%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.
• 5 (14%) retain it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as in time of war).
• 1 (3%) permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions, or it is under a moratorium.
• 16 (46%) have abolished capital punishment.

Many Caribbean countries have carried out no executions for over 10 years, but are not believed to have an abolitionist policy or established practice.

Currently (2018), the United States is the only country in the Americas to conduct executions. The last execution elsewhere in the region was in Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2008. The countries in the Americas that most recently abolished the death penalty are Suriname (2015), Argentina (2009), and Bolivia (2009). Guatemala abolished the death penalty for civil cases in 2017.

Executions in the Americas in 2017: United States (23).

Note: The tables can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

Asia

Of the 44 independent countries in Asia that are UN member or observer states:

• 25 (44%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.
• 7 (16%) permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions, or it is under a moratorium.
• 2 (3%) retain it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as in time of war).
• 10 (37%) have abolished it.

The information above is accurate as of 2017, when Mongolia abolished the death penalty, and does not include Taiwan, which is not currently a UN member; Taiwan practises the death penalty by shooting, and conducted one execution in 2016. Hong Kong and Macau are also listed below but not included in the figures above as they do not have UN membership separate from China.

• In 2017, Asia had the world's five leading practitioners of capital punishment - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Pakistan. The most recent countries to abolish capital punishment in Asia are Timor-Leste (2002), Bhutan (2004), Philippines (2006), Kyrgyzstan (2007), Uzbekistan (2008), and Mongolia (2017).

Executions in 2017: China (1,551+), North Korea (11+), Iran (525+), Iraq (111+), Saudi Arabia (130+), Yemen (2+), Afghanistan (5), Japan (4), Palestine (6), Malaysia (4), Singapore (8), Syria (unknown number), Bangladesh (6), Pakistan (65+), Bahrain (3), Jordan (15), Kuwait (7), United Arab Emirates (1), Vietnam (unknown number).

Note: The tables can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

Europe

Of the 49 independent states in Europe that are UN members or have UN Observer status:

• 1 (2%), Belarus, maintains the death penalty.
• 1 (2%), Russia, maintains the death penalty, but has a moratorium.
• 47 (96%) have completely abolished it.

Abolition of death penalty is a pre-condition for entry into the European Union, which considers capital punishment a "cruel and inhuman" practice and "not been shown in any way to act as a deterrent to crime".

Since 1999, Belarus has been the only recognized country in Europe to carry out executions. 2009 and 2015 were the first two years in recorded history when Europe was completely free of executions. This century the following European countries have abolished capital punishment: Ukraine (2000), Malta (2000), Cyprus (2002), Turkey (2004), Greece (2004), Moldova (2005), Albania (2007), and Latvia (2012).

Executions in Europe in 2017: Belarus (2)

Note: The tables can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

Oceania

Of the 13 independent countries in Oceania that are UN member or observer states:

• 2 (15%) permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions, or it is under a moratorium.
• 11 (85%) have abolished it.

Only Papua New Guinea and Tonga have not formally abolished capital punishment despite not using the practice since 1975 and 1982 respectively. The most recent countries to abolish capital punishment in Oceania are Samoa (2004), Fiji (2015), and Nauru (2016).

Note: The tables can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

src: bridgeforworld.org

Abolition chronology

The table below lists in chronological order the 105 independent states, that are either UN members or have UN observer status, that have completely abolished the death penalty. In the hundred years following the abolition of capital punishment by Venezuela in 1863 only 11 more countries followed, not counting temporary abolitions which were later reversed. From the 1960s onwards, abolition became far more popular. 4 countries abolished capital punishment in the 1960s (a record up to that time for any decade), 11 in the 1970s, and a further 10 in the 1980s. After the end of the Cold War, many more countries followed. 35 countries abolished capital punishment in the 1990s, with 9 in 1990 alone, and a further 23 in the 2000s. 11 countries have abolished so far in the 2010s. Since 1985, there have been only 6 years when no country has abolished the death penalty: 1988, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Note: Where a country has abolished, re-instated, and abolished again (e.g. Philippines, Switzerland, Portugal) only the later abolition date is included. Countries who have abolished and since reinstated (e.g. Liberia) are not included. Non-independent territories are considered to be under the jurisdiction of their parent country - which leads to unexpectedly late abolition dates for the UK, New Zealand and the Netherlands, where Jersey (UK), the Cook Is (NZ), and the Netherlands Antilles, were the last territories of those states to abolish capital punishment, and all were rather later than the more well known abolitions on the respective mainlands. Defunct countries such as the GDR (East Germany), which abolished capital punishment in 1987 but was dissolved in 1990, are also not included. References are in the continental tables above and not repeated here.

src: 40chtv.com

See also

• List of most recent executions by jurisdiction
• American Convention on Human Rights
• European Convention on Human Rights
• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Life imprisonment
• Corporal punishment

src: yuehu.me

References

src: 40chtv.com

External links

• Amnesty International
• The Death Penalty Worldwide
• Countries retaining death penalty fail to give details of executions - United Nations, 14 July 2005
• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• European Convention on Human Rights - Protocol 13
• American Convention on Human Rights - Protocol to Abolish the Death Penalty
• Death Penalty in Asia-Pacific
• Monthly updates of world-wide executions
• Hands Off Cain (results may vary)
• Abolition UK
• Death Penalty Worldwide Academic research database on the laws, practice, and statistics of capital punishment for every death penalty country in the world.

Source of the article : Wikipedia