In Which Countries Is The Death Penalty Still In Force?

The death penalty or capital punishment is the execution of a criminal who has been convicted in court. This penalty is applied as a criminal sanction for the so-called “capital crimes”, that is, those of greater gravity.

We are talking about a penalty that has generated numerous internal and external conflicts in the countries that practice it or have practiced it. In fact, the international community has been adopting various instruments that prohibit the use of this type of sanction.

Throughout the following article we will study the main international norms that govern the application of the death penalty. In addition, we will analyze its use.

Regulations on the abolition of the death penalty

Throughout history, the death penalty has evolved, both in its application and in the cases in which it was imposed. Thus, since time immemorial, this penalty has been applied to certain crimes or as a solution to conflicts between subjects of the same community.

Capital punishment was the axis on which tribal societies were based. It was the instrument to keep the peace thanks to its deterrent effect. However, today it has been abolished in almost all democratic countries.

In Spain, the death penalty existed from the Middle Ages until the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Article 15 of our Constitution provides: “The death penalty is abolished, except as may be provided by military criminal laws for times of war”.

Subsequently, Organic Law 11/1995 of November 27 would abolish the only way that made the application of this penalty possible, declaring it also abolished in the Military Penal Code.

In addition, the international community has adopted various instruments that prohibit its use:

• The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing capital punishment.
• The Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights regarding the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
• The Protocol No. 6 and Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights on the abolition of the death penalty and the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances.
• The Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights regarding the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

Thus, international law provides that the use of the death penalty for international murder must be restricted. Although different organizations, such as Amnesty International, consider that the death penalty is not a solution, claiming that it is a symptom of a culture of violence and not its solution.

Current situation regarding the validity of the death penalty

Today, more than two thirds of the countries have abolished it de jure or de facto. There is a downward trend in the number of executions: in 20 years more than 50 countries have prohibited it in their legislation. 108 States have eliminated the death penalty, 7 have abolished it for common law crimes and 29 maintain a moratorium on executions. However, it  is still applied in 55 states.

Although it is difficult to determine the total number of executions given the absence of official data in some countries, in 2018 Amnesty International recorded 690 executions in 2018, spread over 20 countries. A decrease of 31% compared to the previous year and the lowest figure on record. Most of the executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Iraq (in that order).

Execution of persons who were minors at the time of the crime

In addition, some countries continue to sentence people to death who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime. This happens despite the fact that international human rights law prohibits the application of the penalty in these cases.

Since 1990, Amnesty International has documented 145 executions of minors in 10 countries : Saudi Arabia, China, the United States, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.

Despite the fact that the number of executions of children is small compared to the global figure, its importance goes beyond the data, since this practice calls into question the commitment of the executors to respect international law. In any case, we are talking about a controversial issue that has had a great weight in political campaigns in countries as important as the United States.