The death penalty is provided for by laws based on the Sharia. Capital crimes include

The death penalty is provided for by laws based on the Sharia. Capital crimes include murder, rape and crimes against the security of State. Sexual molesters are also liable to capital punishment.
Since 1995 the death penalty has been a mandatory punishment for certain drug-related offences. The first drug-related executions were in 1998 when Kuwait hung two Iranians found guilty of drug smuggling.
Death sentences, which are normally carried out by hanging, can be appealed twice and must receive the final approval of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait.
Nine people were put to death in 2004. Two people had been executed in 2001, including a woman, and five in 2002. No executions were reported in the country in 2003.