What countries have the death penalty?
Asked by: Parker Brekke | Last update: January 13, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (20 votes)
Although the majority of countries have abolished capital punishment, over half of the world's population live in countries where the death penalty is retained, including India, China, the U.S., Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and DR Congo.
How many countries still have a death penalty?
In total 144 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. 55 countries and territories still uphold and use the death penalty. 20 countries5 carried out executions in 2022. In 2022, the top five executioners were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the USA.
Does Russia have a death sentence?
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation carried out the death penalty intermittently, with up to 10 or so officially a year. In 1996, pending Russia's entry into the Council of Europe, a moratorium was placed on the death penalty, which is still in place as of 2025.
When was the last execution in the UK?
At 8am on 13 August 1964, two men, convicted just a few weeks earlier of murder, were led to the gallows at separate prisons in Manchester and Liverpool. No one involved knew it at the time, but Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen were the last executions before capital punishment was abolished in Britain.
Does Canada have the death penalty?
The death penalty in Canada was fully abolished on December 10, 1998. On that date, all remaining references to the death penalty were removed from the National Defence Act. Between 1976 and 1998, the National Defence Act was the only section of the law that still provided for execution under the law.
What Death Row Looks Like Around the World
When was the last death penalty in the USA?
The last and most recent federal execution was of Dustin Higgs, who was executed on January 16, 2021. On July 1, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium on federal executions.
Why do they do executions at midnight?
One other advantage of holding executions in the middle of the night is that the rest of the prison's inmate population is locked down and presumably asleep. That minimizes the threat of any sort of unrest at the appointed hour.
What is the age limit for death row?
In the death penalty context, that principle has caused debate about what age is too young for someone to be subject to execution. International human rights law has long prohibited the use of the death penalty against people who were younger than age 18 at the time of the offense.
Is hanging still legal in the US?
Hanging has been practiced legally in the United States of America from before the nation's birth, up to 1972 when the United States Supreme Court found capital punishment to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Does Germany have the death penalty?
Notes: 1. In 1990 the German Democratic Republic became unified with the Federal Republic of Germany, where the death penalty had been abolished in 1949.
Does Japan have a death penalty?
Under Japanese law, the death penalty can be imposed for 17 offenses. In recent years, however, the courts have issued death sentences for only three offenses: murder, a killing in the course of a robbery, and killing by explosives. Only one person has been executed in each of the years 1979, 1980, and 1981.
What crimes are punishable by death?
First, the defendant must be convicted of an offense which carries a possible death sentence (first degree murder, sabotage, treason, perjury procuring the execution of an innocent person, train wrecking, and deadly assault by an inmate serving a life term).
What method of execution is used in Vietnam?
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. The drugs used to execute prisoners are produced domestically.
What crimes get the death penalty in China?
The death penalty in China is applicable to a wide range of offences, including both violent crimes and non-violent offences such as drug trafficking and corruption, reflecting its extensive use within the criminal justice system.
Can a child be sentenced to death?
The States of Washington, New York, Kansas, Montana, and Indiana have established laws prohibiting the death penalty for juvenile offenders. The United States and Iran are the only Nations that formally allow the juvenile death penalty. Sixty-nine percent of United States adults oppose the death penalty for juveniles.
Who is the oldest person to be executed?
Nixon's record was surpassed by Walter Moody, who was executed on April 19, 2018, at the age of 83.
Who pays for death row?
Nevertheless, all state taxpayers will have to bear the substantial financial costs of each death penalty case, and some of the costs will even be borne on a national level.
Can you have alcohol for your last meal on death row?
In the United States, most states give the meal a day or two before execution and use the euphemism "special meal". Alcohol and tobacco are usually, but not always, denied. Unorthodox or unavailable requests are replaced with similar substitutes. Some states place tight restrictions.
Who has been on death row the longest?
Iwao Hakamata, who was on death row for almost half a century, was found guilty in 1968 of killing his boss, the man's wife and their two teenage children. He was recently granted a retrial amid suspicions that investigators may have planted evidence that led to his conviction for quadruple murder.
What do death row inmates do all day?
Most death row prisoners in the United States are locked alone in small cells for 22 to 24 hours a day with little human contact or interaction; reduced or no natural light; and severe constraints on visitation, including the inability to ever touch friends or loved ones.
Which state executes the most?
Which States Have Carried Out the Most Executions? Texas has been responsible for the most executions over recent years by far, with 586 since 1977 as of the end of 2023.
How many people have been wrongly convicted of the death penalty?
The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 200 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated.
Do death row inmates get commissary?
They can access the commissary/canteen and have the same opportunities for writing and receiving letters as general population inmates. Although, property can be removed when an inmate is under certain restrictions such as behavior management status, when the inmate retains only a safety gown and safety blanket.