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

The death penalty is provided for by laws based on the Sharia. Capital crimes include murder, rape and crimes against the security of State. Since 1995 the death penalty has been a mandatory punishment for certain drug-related offences.
Death sentences, which are normally carried out by hanging, can be appealed twice and must receive the final approval of the Emir of the State of Kuwait.
Kuwait has executed a total of 74 men and three foreign women since it introduced the death penalty in 1964. Most of those condemned have been convicted murderers or drug traffickers.
According to Amnesty International, at least 9 new death sentences were imposed in 2012 for murder.
In Kuwait 5 people were put to death in 2013 (four for murder and one for abduction and rape) in the first executions of the Gulf State since May 2007.
On 18 December 2014, Kuwait voted against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.