Amnesty International reported that executions worldwide fell by more than 25% last year, down from 2,148 in 2005 to 1,591 in 2006. Of all known executions that took place in 2006, 91% were carried out in six countries, China (1,010), Iran (177), Pakistan (82), Iraq (65), Sudan (65), and the United States (53). Amnesty notes that executions in China are treated as state secrets, and there may have been as many as 8,000 executions.
Last year, the Philippines became the 99th nation to abolish the death penalty for all crimes. Amnesty reports that many more nations, including South Korea, are on the brink of abandoning capital punishment. Use of the death penalty worldwide is also becoming increasingly isolated. Only 6 nations in Africa, one nation in Europe (Belarus), and one nation in the Americas (United States) carried out executions last year.
In the U.S., Amnesty noted that New Jersey became the first state to institute a legislatively mandated moratorium on executions and that a study commission in the state has called for complete abolition of capital punishment. Several other states have also halted executions because of legal challenges and concerns related to lethal injection protocols.
(Amnesty International USA Press Release, April 27, 2007). Read the Press Release. Read Amnesty International’s Death Penalty Statistics Report. See also, International Death Penalty.
