Capital punishment is retained in law by 55 UN member states or observer states, with 140 having abolished it in law or in practice. The most recent legal executions performed by nations and other entities with criminal law jurisdiction over the people present within its boundaries are listed below. Extrajudicial executions and killings are not included. In general, executions carried out in the territory of a sovereign state when it was a colony or before the sovereign state gained independence are not included. The colours on the map correspond to and have the same meanings as the colours in the charts.
# | Country | Last execution date | Name | Crime | Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | August 1993 [1] | seven unnamed Islamic terrorists | terrorism | firing squad | |
Angola | 1977 [2] | Nito Alves and many of his supporters | treason | firing squad | |
Benin | 23 September 1987 [3] | murder | |||
Bophuthatswana | 13 December 1990 [4] [5] | Alpheus Sekoboane | murder | hanging | |
Botswana | 11 June 2021 [6] | Phemelo Botogeleng | murder | hanging | |
Burkina Faso | 1988 [3] | murder | |||
Burundi | 2000 [7] | 2 soldiers | murder | ||
Cameroon | 9 January 1997 [8] | Antoine Vandi Tize | murder | firing squad | |
Cape Verde | 1835 [9] | ||||
Central African Republic | January 1981 [10] | six unnamed officials | firing squad | ||
Chad | 29 August 2015 [11] | Mahamat Mustapha and nine unnamed men | terrorism | firearm | |
Ciskei | never used | ||||
Comoros | 29 May 1997 [12] [13] | Mohamed Saidali | armed robbery | firing squad | |
Congo | October 1982 [14] | 2 men | murder | firing squad | |
Djibouti | none since independence on 27 June 1977 [15] | ||||
DR Congo | 2003 [16] | unnamed soldier | firearm | ||
Egypt | 21 May 2024 [17] | Muhammad Abdel Badie | murder | hanging | |
Equatorial Guinea | January 2014 [18] | 9 unnamed people | firearm | ||
Eritrea | none since independence in May 1993 | ||||
Eswatini | 2 July 1983 [4] | Philippa Mdluli | murder | hanging | |
Ethiopia | 6 August 2007 [19] | Major Tsehaye Woldesellasie | murder | firearm | |
Gabon | 11 August 1985 [20] | Alexandre Mandja Ngokouta | coup attempt | firing squad | |
Gambia | 24 August 2012 [21] [22] | Lamin B. Darboe, Alieu Bah, Lamin Jarju, Dawda Bojang, Abubacarr Yarboi, Malang Sonko, Lamin F. Jammeh, Gibril Bah and Tabara Samba | treason and murder | firearm | |
Ghana | 12 July 1993 [4] | 12 men | murder and robbery | firearm | |
Guinea | 21 April 2001 [3] [23] | 3 people | robbery | firearm | |
Guinea-Bissau | 18 July 1986 [24] | Paulo Correia, Viriato Rodrigues Pā, Benhancaren Na Tchanda, Pedro Ramos, Braima Bangura and N'Bunhe Sanbu | coup attempt | firearm | |
Ivory Coast | none since independence on 7 August 1960 [3] | ||||
Kenya | 9 July 1985 [4] | Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu | treason | hanging | |
Lesotho | 1995 [25] | hanging | |||
Liberia | 2000 [26] | hanging | |||
Libya | 30 May 2010 [27] | 18 unnamed men | murder | firearm | |
Madagascar | 1958 [28] | ||||
Malawi | 26 September 1992 [4] [29] | hanging | |||
Mali | 21 August 1980 [3] [30] | Mamadou Keita and Karuba Coulibaly | murder | firearm | |
Mauritania | 1987 [3] | 3 armed forces officers | treason | firing squad | |
Mauritius | 10 October 1987 [4] | Eshan Nayeck | murder | hanging | |
Morocco | 5 September 1993 [31] | Mustapha Tabet | rape | firing squad | |
Mozambique | May 1986 [4] | ||||
Namibia | May 1988 [4] | Sagarias Ariseb | murder | hanging | |
Niger | 1976 [3] | Bayéré Moussa, Sidi Mohamed, and Ahmed Mouddour | treason | ||
Nigeria | 23 December 2016 [32] | Ogbomoro Omoregie, Apostle Igene and Mark Omosowhota | murder and armed robbery | hanging | |
Rwanda | 24 April 1998 [33] | Froduald Karamira and at least 21 others | genocide | firing squad | |
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 1976 | ||||
São Tomé and Príncipe | none since independence on 12 July 1975 [34] | ||||
Senegal | 15 June 1967 [35] [36] | Moustapha Lô | treason (attempted murder of the president) | firing squad | |
Seychelles | none since independence on 29 June 1976 [34] | ||||
Sierra Leone | 19 October 1998 [4] | 24 soldiers (23 men, 1 woman) | high treason | public firing squad | |
Somalia | 30 March 2024 [37] | Abdihakin Ahmed Egal and Ahmed Abdi Mohamed | murder | public firing squad | |
Somaliland | 1 November 2023 [38] | five unnamed convicts | murder | firing squad | |
South Africa | 14 November 1989 [4] | Solomon Ngobeni | murder | hanging | |
South Sudan | 7 January 2022 [39] | Babu Emmanuel Lokiri | triple murder | hanging | |
Sudan | 23 October 2023 [40] | Geedow Mohamed Fidle and Ismail Abdullahi Abdirahman | murder | public firearm | |
Tanzania | October 1994 [4] | 7 unnamed men, 1 unnamed woman | |||
Togo | 1978 [3] | M. Adjata Koffi | murder | ||
Transkei | never used | ||||
Tunisia | 17 November 1990 [41] | Naceur Damergi | murder | hanging | |
Uganda | 2005 [42] | firing squad | |||
Venda | 31 January 1991 [4] | John Tsakani Chauke | hanging | ||
Zambia | October 1997 [4] | Abraham Kasongo, Nelson Ngindano, Dennis Chembe, Robert Mulumbi, David Kapunga, John Gombo, Joe Chilada and Christopher Oldfield | murder | hanging | |
Zimbabwe | 22 July 2005 [43] [44] [45] | Stephen Chidhumo and Edmund Edgar Masendeke | murder | hanging |
This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2021) |
# | Country | Last execution date | Name | Crime | Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 26 February 2024 [112] | Nazar Mohammad | murder | public firearm | |
Bahrain | 27 July 2019 [113] | Ali Mohammed al-Arab, Ahmad Issa al-Mulla and 1 unnamed man | terrorism | firing squad | |
Bangladesh | 27 July 2023 [114] | Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin and Md Jahangir Alam | murder | hanging | |
Bhutan | 1974 [115] | ||||
Brunei | none since independence on 1 January 1984 [4] | ||||
Cambodia | 1989 | ||||
China | 14 May 2024 [116] | Luo Chongchuang | child rape | firearm or lethal injection | |
East Timor | none since independence on 20 May 2002 [34] | ||||
Hong Kong | 16 November 1966 [117] [118] | Wong Kai-kei [119] | robbery-murder | hanging | |
India | 20 March 2020 [120] | Akshay Thakur, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma | gang rape and murder | hanging | |
Indonesia | 29 July 2016 [121] | Freddy Budiman, Seck Osmane, Michael Titus Igweh and Humphrey Ejike | drug offences | firing squad | |
Iran | 18 May 2024 [122] | Fardin Musazadeh, Mehdi Khadem, and Hatef Sha'abani | drug offences | hanging | |
Iraq | 30 May 2024 [123] | Al-Sumaidaie and 7 unnamed men | terrorism | hanging | |
Israel | 31 May 1962 | Adolf Eichmann | crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people | hanging | |
Japan | 26 July 2022 [124] | Tomohiro Katō | murder | hanging | |
Jordan | 4 March 2017 [125] | 15 unnamed men | murder and terrorism | hanging | |
Kazakhstan | 2003 | ||||
Kuwait | 27 July 2023 [126] | 5 men | terrorism, murder and drug offences | hanging | |
Kyrgyzstan | none since independence on 25 December 1991 | ||||
Laos | 1989 [127] | ||||
Lebanon | 17 January 2004 [128] [129] | Badih Hamadeh, Remi Antoine Zaatar and Ahmed Mansour | murder | firing squad, hanging | |
Macau | 19th century [130] | ||||
Malaysia | 24 May 2017 [131] | Yong Kar Mun and another unnamed man | armed robbery / murder | hanging | |
Maldives | none since independence on 26 July 1965 [4] | ||||
Mongolia | 2008 [132] [133] | ||||
Myanmar | 24 April 2024 (National Unity Government) [134] 23 July 2022 (State Administration Council) [135] | 3 unnamed men 4 men (Kyaw Min Yu, Zayar Thaw, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw) | murder, kidnapping, abuse of power and theft (3 unnamed men) terrorism, murder (4 men) | public firearm (3 unnamed men) hanging (4 men) | |
Nepal | 1979 [136] | ||||
North Korea | January 2022 [137] | Unnamed man and woman (A and B) | watching and distributing “South Korean videos” | public firing squad | |
Oman | 22 April 2024 [138] | 3 unnamed men | murder | firing squad | |
Pakistan | 24 November 2019 [139] | Brigadier Raja Rizwan | espionage and high treason | hanging | |
Palestine | 4 September 2022 (Gaza Strip) [140] [141] July 2005 (Palestinian Authority) [142] | 5 men (N. A., Kh. S., A. E., M. Z. and J. Q.) unnamed prisoner | espionage and murder (5 men) murder (unnamed prisoner) | public firearm and hanging (5 men) unknown method (unnamed prisoner) | |
Philippines | 4 January 2000 [143] | Alex Bartolome | child rape | lethal injection | |
Qatar | 21 May 2020 [144] | Anil Chaudhary | murder | firing squad | |
Saudi Arabia | 11 May 2024 [145] | Imad Mahmoud Hussein and Mustafa Mahmoud Hussein | drug trafficking | public beheading | |
Singapore | 28 February 2024 [146] | Ahmed Salim | murder | hanging | |
South Korea | 31 December 1997 [147] | 23 people including Kim Yong-je, Lee Sang-su and Lee Young-gil | murder, terrorism | hanging | |
Sri Lanka | 23 June 1976 [4] | Chardradasa Jayasinghe | murder | hanging | |
Syria | 2 February 2022 [148] | Mohammed | murder | hanging | |
Taiwan | 1 April 2020 [149] | Weng Jen-hsien | arson / murder | firearm | |
Tajikistan | April 2004 [150] | Rachabmurod Chumayev, Umed Idiyev, Akbar Radzshabov and Mukharam Fatkhulloyev | mass murder | firing squad | |
Thailand | 18 June 2018 [151] | Theerasak Longji | robbery murder | lethal injection | |
Turkmenistan | 1997 [34] | ||||
United Arab Emirates | 2021 [152] | unnamed man | hanging | ||
Uzbekistan | 1 March 2005 [153] | Akhrorkhoja Akbarkhojayevich Talipkhojaev | single firearm | ||
Vietnam | 23 September 2023 [154] | Lê Văn Mạnh | murder, child rape and robbery | lethal injection | |
Yemen | 8 February 2024 [155] | Salman Ibrahim Suleiman Ali | murder | firearm |
# | Country | Last execution date | Name | Crime | Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 13 August 1964 [156] | Peter Anthony Allen and Gwynne Owen Evans | capital murder | hanging | |
Guernsey | 10 February 1854 [156] | John Tapner | murder | hanging | |
Isle of Man | 1 August 1872 [156] | John Kewish | patricide | hanging | |
Jersey | 9 October 1959 [156] | Francis Joseph Huchet | murder | hanging | |
Northern Ireland | 20 December 1961 [156] | Robert McGladdery | murder | hanging | |
Scotland | 15 August 1963 [156] | Henry John Burnett | murder | hanging | |
Wales | 6 May 1958 [156] | Vivian Teed | murder | hanging |
# | Country | Last execution date | Name | Crime | Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cook Islands | none since self-government on 4 August 1965 | ||||
Micronesia | none since independence on 3 November 1986 [178] | ||||
Fiji | none since independence on 10 October 1970 [4] | ||||
Kiribati | none since independence on 12 July 1979 [4] | ||||
Marshall Islands | none since independence on 21 October 1986 [179] | ||||
Nauru | none since independence on 31 January 1968 [4] | ||||
New Zealand | 17 February 1957 [4] | Walter James Bolton | murder | hanging | |
Niue | never used | ||||
Palau | none since independence on 1 October 1994 [34] | ||||
Papua New Guinea | none since independence on 16 September 1975 [4] [180] | ||||
Western Samoa | none since independence on 1 January 1962 [4] | ||||
Solomon Islands | none since independence on 7 July 1978 [4] | ||||
Tonga | 7 September 1982 [4] | Haloti Sole, Livingi Sole, and Fili Esau | murder | hanging | |
Tuvalu | none since independence on 1 October 1978 [4] | ||||
Vanuatu | none since independence on 30 July 1980 [4] |
# | State | Last execution date | Name | Crime | Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Government of Australia | 11 June 1951 | Takuma Nishimura | war crimes | hanging | |
Australian Capital Territory | never used | ||||
New South Wales | 24 August 1939 [4] | John Kelly | murder | hanging | |
Northern Territory | 7 August 1952 [4] | Jaroslav Koci and Jan Novotny | murder | hanging | |
Queensland | 22 September 1913 [4] | Ernest Austin | murder | hanging | |
South Australia | 24 November 1964 [4] | Glen Sabre Valance | murder | hanging | |
Tasmania | 14 February 1946 [4] | Frederick Thompson | murder | hanging | |
Victoria | 3 February 1967 [4] | Ronald Ryan | murder | hanging | |
Western Australia | 26 October 1964 | Eric Edgar Cooke | murder | hanging |
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.
Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as a punishment for a crime. It has historically been used in almost every part of the world. Since the mid-19th century many countries have abolished or discontinued the practice. In 2022, the 5 countries that executed the most people were, in descending order, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading, is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as the brain or heart, most often will kill relatively quickly.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China. It is applicable to offenses ranging from murder to drug trafficking. Executions are carried out by lethal injection or by shooting. A survey conducted by TheNew York Times in 2014 found the death penalty retained widespread support in Chinese society.
Mahmoud Asgari, and Ayaz Marhoni, were Iranian teenagers from the province of Khorasan who were publicly hanged on July 19, 2005. Iranian officials say the teenagers were executed for raping a 13-year-old boy, while gay rights groups claim they were executed for "being homosexual". The case attracted international media attention and the facts of the case are heavily debated.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Belarus. At least one execution was carried out in the country in 2022.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Japan. In practice, it is applied only for aggravated murder, but the current Penal Code and several laws list 14 capital crimes. Executions are carried out by long drop hanging, and take place at one of the seven execution chambers located in major cities across the country. The only crime punishable by a mandatory death sentence is instigation of foreign aggression.
Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, the latter of which has a moratorium and has not carried out an execution since September 1996. The complete ban on capital punishment is enshrined in both the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU) and two widely adopted protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and is thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, San Marino, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the first to abolish capital punishment, whereas only Belarus still practises capital punishment in some form or another. In 2012, Latvia became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime.
Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal punishment, with most executions in the country being carried out by decapitation (beheading) – Saudi Arabia being the only country in the world to still use the method. In 2022, recorded executions in Saudi Arabia reached 196, the highest number recorded in the country for any year over the last three decades.
Capital punishment in Armenia was a method of punishment that was implemented within Armenia's Criminal Code and Constitution until its eventual relinquishment in the 2003 modifications made to the Constitution. Capital punishment's origin in Armenia is unknown, yet it remained present in the Armenia Criminal Code of 1961, which was enforced and applied until 1999. Capital punishment was incorporated into Armenian legislation and effectuated for capital crimes, which were crimes that were classified to be punishable by death, including treason, espionage, first-degree murder, acts of terrorism and grave military crimes.
Boris Dekanidze was the head of the Vilnius Brigade criminal organization in Lithuania. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder of Lithuanian journalist Vitas Lingys and was executed by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed in Lithuania prior to the abolition of capital punishment in 1998.
Froduald Karamira was a Rwandan politician who was found guilty of crimes in organising the implementation of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He was sentenced to death by a Rwandan court and was one of the last 22 individuals executed by Rwanda, in April 1998.He was an ethnic Tutsi.
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution, even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists. In the United States, after an individual is found guilty of a capital offense in states where execution is a legal penalty, the judge will give the jury the option of imposing a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It is then up to the jury to decide whether to give the death sentence; this usually has to be a unanimous decision. If the jury agrees on death, the defendant will remain on death row during appeal and habeas corpus procedures, which may continue for several decades.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in North Korea. It is used for many offences, such as grand theft, murder, rape, drug smuggling, treason, espionage, political dissent, defection, piracy, consumption of media not approved by the government and proselytizing religious beliefs that contradict practiced Juche ideology. Owing to the secrecy of the North Korean government, working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on anonymous sources, accounts of defectors and reports by Radio Free Asia, a United States government-funded news service that operates in East Asia. The country allegedly carries out public executions, which, if true, makes North Korea one of the last four countries to still perform public executions, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia, but this has been disputed by some defector accounts.
Capital punishment in Peru was last used in 1979. In the same year, the death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes. Peru is one of seven countries that has abolished capital punishment for "ordinary crimes only." Peru voted in favor of the United Nations moratorium on the death penalty in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Peru is not a signatory to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Cuba, however it is seldom resorted to. The last executions were carried out in 2003. National legislation provides for the death penalty for murder, threatening to commit murder, aggravated rape, terrorism, hijacking, piracy, drug trafficking and manufacturing, espionage, and treason. The typical method is execution by firing squad.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United Arab Emirates.
Capital punishment in Kazakhstan was abolished for all crimes in 2021. Until 2021, it had been abolished for ordinary crimes but was still permitted for crimes occurring in special circumstances. The legal method of execution in Kazakhstan had been shooting, specifically a single shot to the back of the head.
Capital punishment in Uzbekistan has been abolished.
Capital punishment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal; however, the nation has not carried out any executions since 2003, meaning that the country experienced a de facto moratorium on the death penalty from their latest executions in 2003 until March 2024.
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