Capital crimes are: murder, drug offenses, rape, theft,...

Capital crimes are: murder, drug offenses, rape, theft, treason, kidnapping, arson, spying and hijacking. Thailand resumed executions in 1996 after a break of 9 years. Under a 1942 capital punishment law, convicts sentenced to death are tied to a cross-shaped wooden frame, blindfolded, then shot with multiple rounds from a machine-gun. Art. 247 of the Criminal Code states that the death penalty can only be carried out after the provision of the code governing pardons has been complied with. Division VII of the code - concerning pardons, commutation of sentences and reduction of punishments - stipulates that the death sentence can only be carried out 60 days after the final verdict. But the execution must be suspended if the convict petitions for or there is a recommendation for a pardon. The suspension period is 60 days, starting from the date on which the state counselor from the Interior Ministry submitted the petition or recommendation to His Majesty the King. If the petition is rejected before the expiry of the 60 day period, the execution can be carried out immediately. On the other hand, if the petition is neither rejected nor accepted within the suspension period, the execution may take place once the suspension period has expired, according to the judge. Human rights groups have expressed concern at the rising rate of Thai executions. Last year, 17 inmates were put to death at Bang Khwang, the only prison in the country where executions are carried out. Executions of foreigners are rare. Thailand commuted the terms of dozens of death row inmates to life imprisonment as part of a royal amnesty in December 1999. The amnesty did not cover those convicted of heroin trafficking. In the first eight months of 2000, 34 drug traffickers were sentenced to death, an increase over last year when 17 people were given the death penalty for either drug trafficking or murder. The death penalty, which previously applied to traffickers in opium and heroin, has been extended to cover amphetamines.