Overview of the use of capital punishment in several countries
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. By the 2020s, many countries had abolished or discontinued the practice.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In 2022[update], the 5 countries that executed the most people were, in descending order, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.[8]
The 193 United Nations member states and 2 observer states fall into 4 categories based on their use of capital punishment. As of 2024[update]:[9]
53 (27%) maintain the death penalty in law and practice.
23 (11%) permit its use but have abolished it de facto: per Amnesty International standards, they have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or practice of not carrying out executions.[10]
10 (5%) have abolished it for all crimes except those committed under exceptional circumstances (such as during war), most recently Ghana (2023).
109 (56%) have completely abolished it, most recently the Central African Republic (2022).
Since 1990, at least 11 countries have executed offenders who were minors (under the age of 18 or 21) at the time the crime was committed, which is a breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all countries but the United States. These are China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, the United States, and Yemen.[11][12][13] In the United States, this ended in 2005 with the Supreme Court case Roper v. Simmons, in Nigeria in 2015 by law,[14] and in Saudi Arabia in 2020 by royal decree.[15]
^"Death sentences and executions in 2012". Amnesty International. 10 April 2013.
^Bienen, Leigh B. (2011). Murder and Its Consequences: Essays on Capital Punishment in America (2 ed.). Northwestern University Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8101-2697-8.
^Tonry, Michael H. (2000). The Handbook of Crime & Punishment. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-514060-6.
^Reichert, Elisabeth (2011). Social Work and Human Rights: A Foundation for Policy and Practice. Columbia University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-231-52070-6.
^Durrant, Russil (2013). An Introduction to Criminal Psychology. Routledge. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-136-23434-7.
^Bryant, Clifton D.; Peck, Dennis L. (2009). Encyclopedia of Death & Human Experience. Sage Publications. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-4129-5178-4.
^Roberson, Cliff (2015). Constitutional Law and Criminal Justice, Second Edition. CRC Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-4987-2120-2.
^"Death Sentences and Executions 2022". Amnesty International. 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries as of December 2022". Amnesty International. May 2023.
^"DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS REPORT 2015". Amnesty International. April 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
^"Executions of juveniles since 1990". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.
^Philp, Catherine (11 August 2017). "Iran hangs Ali Reza Tajiki, who was arrested for murder at age 15". The Times. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
^"South Sudan steps up executions, children not spared". www.amnesty.org. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^Ondo State of Nigeria Official Gazette, Law No. 2 of 2016, Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2015. Akure: Ondo State Government. 2016.
^"Saudi Arabia scraps execution for those who committed crimes as minors: Commission". Reuters. 26 April 2020. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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