On December 29, 1999, the People's Council decided to abolish the death sentence in the country.

On December 29, 1999, the People's Council decided to abolish the death sentence in the country. The same day, President Saparmurad Niyazov signed a corresponding constitutional law. The longest prison term was set at 25 years. Niyazov told the People's Council that people sentenced for felonies would be kept at special places of confinement. Another constitutional law was passed on the same day, stipulating the granting of pardons to convicts on a specific Muslim holiday every year. Persons pardoned under this law must take an oath on the Koran never to commit crimes against society.
On December 17, 2018, Turkmenistan voted again in favour of the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly, but did not cosponsored as done in 2014.