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
- OCTOBER 1, 2002European UnionDEATH PENALTY
The "General Affairs and External Relations" Council...
The "General Affairs and External Relations" Council adopted a declaration on the death penalty and particularly cruel forms of execution
- OCTOBER 1, 2002PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
The Senate Committee on Justice endorsed the early...
The Senate Committee on Justice endorsed the early approval of a bill authored by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended...
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended the execution of all death row convicts while Congress is debating a proposed law abolishing the death penalty, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Kazakh Ombudsman Bolat Baikadamov declared it was time...
Kazakh Ombudsman Bolat Baikadamov declared it was time to abolish capital punishment in the country
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The former Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary...
The former Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, now the Speaker of Parliament, has since independence spoken strongly against capital punishment
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
The Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by...
The Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by 30 convicts to stop their executions while Congress was debating a proposal to abolish capital punishment
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Six years after the abolishment of the death penalty...
Six years after the abolishment of the death penalty in South Africa, hundreds of former death row prisoners are still awaiting their fate as the department of justice drags its feet on reviewing their sentences
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2002UkraineDEATH PENALTY
When asked in a newspaper interview if he thought that...
When asked in a newspaper interview if he thought that Ukraine had abolished the death penalty too early, Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun stated: "I think the death penalty is a more efficient instrument to prevent serious crimes
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2002RomaniaDEATH PENALTY
The Romanian Government approved a bill ratifying Protocol...
The Romanian Government approved a bill ratifying Protocol No
- SEPTEMBER 2, 2002LithuaniaDEATH PENALTY
President Valdas Adamkus approved the abolition of...
President Valdas Adamkus approved the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- AUGUST 29, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In an unusual public statement about the death penalty,...
In an unusual public statement about the death penalty, 3 Supreme Court justices said the time is right to consider abolishing capital punishment for killers who committed their crimes as minors
- AUGUST 21, 2002Council of EuropeDEATH PENALTY
The co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Commission,...
The co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Commission, Irena Belogorska nd Yerzhi Yaskernya met with the relatives of the members of the Armenian Government and of the Armenian deputies killed as a result of the October '99 terrorist act in the Armenian Pa
- AUGUST 14, 2002KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Supreme Court chairman, Kayrat Mami, said in an interview...
Supreme Court chairman, Kayrat Mami, said in an interview with the Kazakh newspaper MN Novosti Nedeli that it was too early to abolish capital punishment
- AUGUST 13, 2002PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Two House committees jointly approved a bill seeking...
Two House committees jointly approved a bill seeking to abolish the death penalty
- AUGUST 11, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, sentenced to...
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, sentenced to death in 1999, praised Turkey's abolition of capital punishment as the most important decision in its modern history, in an interview
- AUGUST 10, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Devlet Bahceli, Nationalist Action Party [MHP] leader...
Devlet Bahceli, Nationalist Action Party [MHP] leader and deputy prime minister, declared that embarking on a road based on the notions of blackmail and surrender in Turkey's ties with the EU will prepare the ground for more excessive demands pertaining t
- AUGUST 9, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The files of those who were sentenced to death on charges...
The files of those who were sentenced to death on charges of terrorism will be reviwed after Turkey abolished the death sentence except for the "crimes committed in times of war and situations of imminent war"
- AUGUST 7, 2002PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
A press briefing was held jointly by the human rights...
A press briefing was held jointly by the human rights and revision of laws committees and the Free Legal Assistance Group to react to Col
- AUGUST 5, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that the abolition...
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that the abolition of the death penalty would not bring any changes to the imprisonment of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, on Imrali Island, and he would continue to be held there for securit
- AUGUST 4, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Terrorism Victims' Solidarity and Cooperation Association...
Terrorism Victims' Solidarity and Cooperation Association Chairman Mehmet Alptekin said that the association condemned those who had expended efforts for abolition of death penalty, and broadcasting and education in Kurdish under the European Union (EU) r
- AUGUST 3, 2002European UnionDEATH PENALTY
The European Union (EU) Commission welcomed the adoption...
The European Union (EU) Commission welcomed the adoption of the third European Union (EU) Reform Package by the Turkish Parliament as an important signal of the determination of the majority of Turkey's political leaders towards further alignment to the v
- AUGUST 3, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Pro-European politicians won a landmark victory in...
Pro-European politicians won a landmark victory in Turkey with the passage of legislative reforms that delighted human rights activists
- AUGUST 2, 2002BarbadosDEATH PENALTY
Caribbean Justice, a group working for the abolition...
Caribbean Justice, a group working for the abolition of the death penalty, condemned plans by Barbados to amend its constitution in order to circumvent death penalty rulings by the British Privy Council, the highest court in the country
- AUGUST 1, 2002GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
Guatemalan Ambassador to the Organization of American...
Guatemalan Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) Arturo Duarte told the body that his government plans to abolish the death penalty
- JULY 31, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A group of Japanese lawmakers asked Justice Minister...
A group of Japanese lawmakers asked Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama to clear the way for abolishing the death penalty
- JULY 22, 2002TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
The abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan is not...
The abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan is not yet around the corner, but draft legislation that seeks to plug some of the law's weaknesses marks no small step in the government's efforts to get it out of the statute books eventually
- JULY 11, 2002ArmeniaDEATH PENALTY
In the new Criminal Code of Armenia, adopted by the...
In the new Criminal Code of Armenia, adopted by the National Assembly at the first reading, the death penalty has been abolished
- JULY 10, 2002TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Early elections in Turkey seem inevitable after 32...
Early elections in Turkey seem inevitable after 32 MPs deserted ailing Prime Minister's s Bulent Ecevit Democratic Left Party
- JULY 9, 2002SenegalDEATH PENALTY
Seven Senegalese human rights NGOs and associations...
Seven Senegalese human rights NGOs and associations have embarked on a campaign to end the death penalty in the country
- JULY 5, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The Kremlin is reckoning on the next Russian parliament...
The Kremlin is reckoning on the next Russian parliament to abolish the death penalty