The abolition of the death penalty
Archive theme
The association places countries in four states: retentionist, abolitionist in practice — no executions for at least ten years —, abolitionist for ordinary crimes, and abolitionist for all crimes. Moving from one state to the next is almost always slow: first the executions stop, then the law changes.
This page collects the news on abolitions, legislative reforms, constitutional rulings and changes of state. The current legal status of every country is in the database.
Latest news
- APRIL 16, 2004Papua New GuineaDEATH PENALTY
The Papua New Guinea government should halt its moves...
The Papua New Guinea government should halt its moves towards executions and work with international donors to establish a more effective system of fighting violent crime, Amnesty International said
- APRIL 7, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Shizuka Kamei, former policy chief of Japan's ruling...
Shizuka Kamei, former policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was re-elected chairman of a Diet group against the death penalty in the country and reiterated his desire to see it abolished
- APRIL 6, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The People's Legal Forum (PLF) submitted a petition...
The People's Legal Forum (PLF) submitted a petition to the President of India, A
- MARCH 23, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
"As the April elections loom, marking 10 years of democracy,...
"As the April elections loom, marking 10 years of democracy, several political parties are voicing support for the death penalty as a way of reducing crime in a fresh bid to win votes
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners...
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica could win a reprieve if an unprecedented privy council hearing beginning in London ruled that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional
- MARCH 22, 2004BarbadosDEATH PENALTY
The appeal was the culmination of a strategy deployed...
The appeal was the culmination of a strategy deployed over the last six years by English lawyers working free of charge on behalf of Caribbean death row inmates
- MARCH 22, 2004United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The campaign had been spearheaded by the London law...
The campaign had been spearheaded by the London law firm Simons Muirhead and Burton, which represented three of the four men appeal including, Charles Matthews, from Trinidad, and Lennox Boyce and Jeffrey Joseph, from Barbados
- MARCH 11, 2004LithuaniaDEATH PENALTY
In its concluding remarks on the second periodic report...
In its concluding remarks on the second periodic report of Lithuania, which was considered in November 1997, the UN Human Rights Committee noted with great interest that the State had undertaken major reforms of the legal system, including repeal of preve
- MARCH 1, 2004RwandaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International declared itself very concerned...
Amnesty International declared itself very concerned at the prospect of renewed judicial executions in Burundi
- MARCH 1, 2004BurundiDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International declared itself very concerned...
Amnesty International declared itself very concerned at the prospect of renewed judicial executions in Burundi
- FEBRUARY 14, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR A MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS ENDS
February 14, 2004: the international two-day conference held in Rome and the concurrent meeting of HOC’s board of directors, ended Saturday.
- JANUARY 29, 2004Council of EuropeDEATH PENALTY
Lithuania's permanent Ambassador to the Council of...
Lithuania's permanent Ambassador to the Council of Europe, Neris Germanas, submitted the ratification writs of the Protocol No
- JANUARY 19, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes...
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty introduced in Kazakhstan by presidential decree on 18 December 2003
- JANUARY 19, 2004European UnionDEATH PENALTY
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes...
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty introduced in Kazakhstan by presidential decree on 18 December 2003
- JANUARY 16, 2004PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Lawmakers were urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo...
Lawmakers were urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to suspend the execution by lethal injection of convicted kidnappers Robert Lara and Roderick Licayan on January 30, following the arrest of two key suspects in the original kidnapping case
- JANUARY 12, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Moves by the Nigerian Federal Government to abolish...
Moves by the Nigerian Federal Government to abolish capital punishment were described as a plan to contain the Sharia legal system and to reduce the stem of its spread in the country
- JANUARY 8, 2004Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
After having approached the Foreign Ministry of Myanmar...
After having approached the Foreign Ministry of Myanmar following the nine death sentences issued by the Myanmar authorities on November 28, 2003, the outgoing (Italian) Presidency published a declaration recalling that the Union considered the death pena
- JANUARY 6, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The European Union issued a statement welcoming the...
The European Union issued a statement welcoming the Kazakh leadership's decision to declare a moratorium on the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2004IndianaDEATH PENALTY
Indiana forbids the execution of the mentally retarded...
Indiana forbids the execution of the mentally retarded and since March 2002 the execution of juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2004North DakotaDEATH PENALTY
North Dakota does not have the death penalty
North Dakota does not have the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2004MassachusettsDEATH PENALTY
Massachusetts does not have the death penalty
Massachusetts does not have the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2004MaineDEATH PENALTY
Maine does not have the death penalty, having abolished...
Maine does not have the death penalty, having abolished it in 1887
- JANUARY 1, 2004MinnesotaDEATH PENALTY
Minnesota abolished the death penalty in 1911
Minnesota abolished the death penalty in 1911
- JANUARY 1, 2004West VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965
West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965
- JANUARY 1, 2004HawaiiDEATH PENALTY
Hawaii does not have the death penalty, having abolished...
Hawaii does not have the death penalty, having abolished it in 1956 before becoming a state
- DECEMBER 26, 2003NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Chief Mike Ozekhome, a lawyer and human rights activist...
Chief Mike Ozekhome, a lawyer and human rights activist prominent in the pro-democracy struggle until the military left the political centre stage in 1999, joined the national debate on the retention of the death penalty in Nigeria
- DECEMBER 18, 2003KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a death...
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a death penalty moratorium, deputy head of the presidential administration in charge of the state and legal department Igor Rogov said at a briefing in Astana
- NOVEMBER 30, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC REITERATES THE NEED FOR A MORATORIUM NOW AT NOBEL SUMMIT
November 30, 2003: “We need to transform a slow historical process into political terms and time frames,” HOC General Secretary Sergio D’Elia said during of the fourth world summit of the Nobel Peace Laureates.
- NOVEMBER 26, 2003PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines...
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed support for the decision of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo not to lift the moratorium on the death penalty, saying there was no clear evidence that it had a deterrent effect
- NOVEMBER 12, 2003Council of EuropeDEATH PENALTY
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President...
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder and the Secretary General of the Organisation, Walter Schwimmer, welcomed Turkey's formal deposition of the ratification instruments for Protocol No