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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 practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime. It has historically been used in almost every part of the world. In the 2010s, many countries either abolished or discontinued the practice.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China. It is commonly applied for murder and drug trafficking, and is a legal penalty for other offenses. Executions are carried out by lethal injection or by shooting. In a survey conducted by the New York Times in 2014, it was found the death penalty retained widespread support in Chinese society.
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, including conspiracy to commit civil war; conspiracy with a foreign power to provoke war against Japan; murder; obstruction of the operation of railroads, ships, or airplanes resulting in the death of the victim; poisoning of the water supply resulting in the death of the victim; intentional flooding; use of a bomb; and arson of a dwelling. 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.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Iran. Crimes punishable by death include murder; rape; child molestation; homosexuality; pedophilia; drug trafficking; armed robbery; kidnapping; terrorism; burglary; incestuous relationships; fornication; prohibited sexual relations; sodomy; sexual misconduct; prostitution; plotting to overthrow the Islamic regime; political dissidence; sabotage; arson; rebellion; apostasy; adultery; blasphemy; extortion; counterfeiting; smuggling; speculating; disrupting production; recidivist consumption of alcohol; producing or preparing food, drink, cosmetics, or sanitary items that lead to death when consumed or used; producing and publishing pornography; using pornographic materials to solicit sex; recidivist false accusation of capital sexual offenses causing execution of an innocent person; recidivist theft; certain military offenses ; "waging war against God"; "spreading corruption on Earth"; espionage; and treason. Iran carried out at least 977 executions in 2015, at least 567 executions in 2016, and at least 507 executions in 2017. In 2018 there were at least 249 executions, at least 273 in 2019, at least 246 in 2020, at least 290 in 2021, at least 553 in 2022, and at least 309 so far in 2023.
Capital punishment in Iraq is a legal penalty. It was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein, was temporarily halted after the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that deposed Saddam, and has since been reinstated. Executions are carried out by hanging.
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.
Delara Darabi was an Iranian Gilaki woman who was sentenced to death after having been convicted of murdering her father's female cousin in 2003. Although Delara initially claimed that she had committed the crime, she subsequently recanted and explained that her older boyfriend, Amir Hossein, had persuaded her to lie about the incident to protect him. According to Delara and other sources familiar with the case, Amir Hossein was the person who had committed the murder in an attempt to steal from a wealthy member of the Darabi family. She was hanged in Rasht Prison on 1 May 2009.
David Wilson was a convicted murderer and the second person to be executed by Saint Kitts and Nevis since it became a sovereign state in 1983.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in South Korea. As of December 2012, there were at least 60 people in South Korea on death row. The method of execution is hanging.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jamaica. Currently, the only crime punishable by death is aggravated murder. The method of execution is hanging. Jamaica was originally a British colony. The last person executed in Jamaica was Nathan Foster, who was convicted of murder and hanged in 1988. The Jamaican Parliament had placed a moratorium on the death penalty until 2009, when it was lifted. Since 2009, capital punishment is legal and executions in Jamaica could resume; however, there have been no executions since.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Yemen.
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 persons were executed. Two more executions followed in 2015, 15 executions took place in 2017 and one in 2021.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Nigeria.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and is carried out by hanging at His Majesty's Prison in Basseterre. The death penalty can only be applied for aggravated murder and treason.
Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in The Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.
Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty by a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the Comoros. Currently, however, the country is experiencing a de facto moratorium; although the death penalty remains in the nation's penal code, it has not been used since the 1990s.
References
- 1 2 Elliot, Anastasha (31 March 2006). "Charles La Place sentenced to die". St Kitts – Nevis Observer. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07.
- 1 2 3 Hirsch, Afua (23 December 2008). "Man hanged in rare St Kitts execution had not exhausted appeal rights, say campaigners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ↑ "The death penalty in the Americas in 2008". Amnesty International. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
