The Criminal Law and Procedure Act No.67 of 1938, as amended in 1975, provides for a mandatory capital sentence for murder without extenuating circumstances.

The Criminal Law and Procedure Act No.67 of 1938, as amended in 1975, provides for a mandatory capital sentence for murder without extenuating circumstances. Treason carries a discretionary death sentence.
All death sentences are automatically referred to the Court of Appeal. If the sentence is confirmed on appeal, the convicted person has the right to appeal to the King for mercy.
The King is advised by the Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (Justice Minister plus two other ministers and the Attorney General). If the King confirms the death sentence he is required to sign a warrant before execution is carried out.
Swaziland has executed 34 convicted murderers since independence from Britain in 1968. The last person was executed in 1982: a mother and prominent businesswoman, Phillipa Mdluli, was hanged for the ritual murder of her domestic worker's daughter, whose body had been mutilated in the mystic belief that certain human flesh carries magical powers.
Until now, King Mswati III has developed a reputation for leniency, using official holidays and royal celebrations to commute death sentences to life terms and life terms to 15 or 20 years.
In March 2003, the Times of Swaziland reported that senators were debating in Parliament a motion asking the Minister to raise the issue of the death penalty and execution of sentence for death-row prisoners. Some felt there was a need to clarify whether the law existed or had been scrapped. The acting Minister of Justice confirmed that the death penalty still stood, but said executions had been frozen because the Court of Appeal was dormant, and due process could not be followed.
Swaziland’s constitution was suspended by the late King Sobhuza in 1973, who also banned political parties.
King Mswati III, under pressure to grant a new constitution, came under heavy criticism for the proposed text in January 2005. The new draft constitution, written by Mswati's brothers, is said by critics to entrench royal power over the government, courts and parliament. Political parties remain banned. The banned political opposition planned to protest the text, and called for ‘selective’ international sanctions. The king also came under heavy criticism for his lavish spending in a country with a 70% poverty rate and where HIV/Aids affects nearly 40 % of the population.