The death sentence is mandatory for murder but has...

The death sentence is mandatory for murder but has not been carried out since independence in 1962. The decision on whether to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment is made by the Head of State Malietoa Tanumafili II.
ugust 7, 2000 the American Samoa House of Representatives passed legislation to abolish the death penalty. If approved by the Senate the legislation would also abolish the possibility of parole for those serving life in prison for murder in the first degree.