Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Vietnam for a variety of crimes.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative [1] gives Vietnam a score of 4.4 out of 10 on the right to freedom from the death penalty, based on responses from human rights experts in the country. [2] These experts have also identified that certain groups, such as migrants and/or immigrants, people with low social or economic status, and refugees or asylum seekers are particularly at risk of having their right to freedom from the death penalty violated. In 2020, these experts additionally identified "those involved in land disputes, particularly those involved with the Dong Tam Village attack" and "detainees or prisoners, particularly those convicted for drug offences or robberies", as being especially vulnerable to death penalty executions. [3]
Twenty-nine articles in the Penal Code allow the death penalty as an optional punishment. Executions were once carried out by a firing squad of seven police officers, where the prisoners were blindfolded and tied to stakes. The firing squad was replaced by lethal injection in November 2011 after the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments (in article 59(1)) was passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam. [4] [5] The drugs used to execute prisoners are produced domestically. [6] The first execution conducted by lethal injection was of Nguyen Anh Tuan, convicted of murdering gas station employee Bui Thi Nguyet on August 6, 2013. [7]
In November 2015, a revision of the Penal Code was passed that severely curtailed the death penalty. Under the new regulations, which took effect on July 1, 2016, the death penalty was abolished for seven crimes: surrendering to the enemy, opposing order, destruction of projects of national security importance, robbery, drug possession, drug appropriation, and the production and trade of fake food. In addition, those 75 or older are exempt, and officials convicted of corruption charges can be spared if they pay back at least 75% of the profits they illicitly obtained. [8]
The death penalty cannot be applied to juvenile offenders, pregnant women, and women nursing children under 36 months old at the time the crime was committed or being tried. These cases are commuted to life imprisonment. [9]
Between August 6, 2013 and June 30, 2016, Vietnam executed 429 people. [6] 1,134 people were sentenced to death between July 2011 and June 2016. [6] The number of individuals on death row is not known. [6]
According to the Penal Code, the following chapters contain the relevant articles that apply to capital punishment.
Chapters | Articles |
---|---|
XIII - Crimes of Infringing Upon National Security | 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115 |
XIV - Crimes of Infringing Upon Human Life, Health, Dignity and Honor | 123, 141, 142 |
XV - Crimes of Infringing Upon Citizens' Democratic Freedoms | None |
XVI - Crimes of Infringing Upon Ownership Rights | 168, 174 |
XVII - Crimes of Infringing Upon the Marriage and Family Regimes | None |
XVIII - Crimes of Infringing Upon the Economic Management Order | 188, 190, 203 |
XIX - Environment-related Crimes | None |
XX - Narcotics-related Crimes | 248, 249, 252 |
XXI - Crimes of Infringement Upon Public Safety, Public Order | 282, 299 |
XXII - Crimes of Infringing Upon Administrative Management Order | None |
XXIII - Crimes Relating to Position | 353, 354, 364 |
XXIV - Crimes of Infringing Upon Judicial Activities | None |
XXV - Crimes of Infringing Upon the Duties and Responsibilities of Army Personnel | 395, 399, 401 |
XXVI - Crimes of Undermining Peace, Against Humanity and War Crimes | 421, 422, 423 |
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.
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broader sense to include euthanasia and other forms of suicide. The drugs cause the person to become unconscious, stops their breathing, and causes a heart arrhythmia, in that order.
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.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.
In the U.S. state of California, capital punishment is not allowed to be carried out as of March 2019, because executions were halted by an official moratorium ordered by Governor Gavin Newsom. Before the moratorium, executions had been frozen by a federal court order since 2006, and the litigation resulting in the court order has been on hold since the promulgation of the moratorium. Thus, there will be a court-ordered moratorium on executions after the termination of Newsom's moratorium if capital punishment remains a legal penalty in California by then.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution in the state was in July 2018, when Robert J. Van Hook was executed via lethal injection for murder.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Utah.
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.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Texas for murder, and participation in a felony resulting in death if committed by an individual who has attained or is over the age of 18.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Iran.
Capital punishment in the Philippines specifically, the death penalty, as a form of state-sponsored repression, was introduced and widely practiced by the Spanish government in the Philippines. A substantial number of Filipino national martyrs like Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite, Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan, Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol, Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan and Jose Rizal were executed by the Spanish government.
Execution by shooting is a method of capital punishment in which a person is shot to death by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan. Although there have been numerous amendments to the Constitution, there is yet to be a provision prohibiting the death penalty as a punitive remedy.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United Arab Emirates.
Capital punishment in Thailand is a legal penalty, and the country is, as of 2021, one of 54 nations to retain capital punishment both in legislation and in practice. Of the 10 ASEAN nations, only Cambodia and the Philippines have outlawed it, though Laos and Brunei have not conducted executions for decades.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jordan. The country had a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. In late 2014 the moratorium was lifted and 11 people were executed. Two more executions followed in 2015, 15 executions took place in 2017 and one in 2021. The method of execution is hanging, although shooting was previously the sole method for carrying out executions.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Between 1718 and 2021, more than 680 people have been executed in South Carolina. After the nationwide capital punishment ban was overturned in 1976, South Carolina has executed 43 people.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Tennessee.
Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in the Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.
Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13