Capital Punishment Around the World
If anything should happen presently to abolish capital punishment in Kenya, it should be guided by four premises; brutality, dignity, effectiveness and human rights. Having attempted to update the reader with a brief overview of capital punishment – its diminished use around the world and summarized with its ineffectiveness, and combining the works of others – it’s opportune to refute the use of capital punishment as a means to deter serious crimes in society. As alluded to above, its depersonalized and sterilized methods do not eliminate the brutality. Secondly, as early as the 18th century, those against the death penalty have stressed the urgent importance of requiring governments to recognize the importance of each individual. In light of this, supporters of capital punishment should see the wrong with governments’ calculatingly killing terrible people who commit grave crimes, and be after the dire need to perimeter governmental power in this area. Furthermore, majority of statistical comparisons regarding suicide and capital punishment show that the presence or absence of capital punishment does not comparably influence the rate of homicide. Many a study refute the argument that the capital punishment deters crime. We considers the deterrence argument fully negated and does not suffice to the debate. Capital punishment is not merely an issue about human rights, rather it is establishing proper punishment of criminals. Lastly, capital punishment is not a watertight system in actual practice because imperfect human beings are involved in the procedure of finding the guilty party, and as such, they are vulnerable to errors.
Status and Dates of Last Execution
| Country | Legal Status | Date of Last Execution |
| Afghanistan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Albania | No capital punishment | |
| Algeria | Capital punishment legal | 1993 |
| Andorra | No capital punishment | 1943 |
| Angola | No capital punishment | 1992 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Capital punishment legal | |
| Argentina | No capital punishment | 1984 |
| Armenia | No capital punishment | |
| Australia | No capital punishment | 1967 |
| Austria | No capital punishment | 1950 |
| Azerbaijan | No capital punishment | 1993 |
| The Bahamas | Capital punishment legal | |
| Bahrain | Capital punishment legal | |
| Bangladesh | Capital punishment legal | |
| Barbados | Capital punishment legal | |
| Belarus | Capital punishment legal | |
| Belgium | No capital punishment | 1950 |
| Belize | Capital punishment legal | |
| Benin | Capital punishment legal | 1987 |
| Bhutan | No capital punishment | 1964 |
| Bolivia | No capital punishment | 1974 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | No capital punishment | |
| Botswana | Capital punishment legal | |
| Brazil | No capital punishment | 1855 |
| Brunei | Capital punishment legal | 1957 |
| Bulgaria | No capital punishment | 1989 |
| Burkina Faso | Capital punishment legal | 1988 |
| Burundi | Capital punishment legal | |
| Cambodia | No capital punishment | 1989 |
| Cameroon | Capital punishment legal | |
| Canada | No capital punishment | 1962 |
| Cape Verde | No capital punishment | 1835 |
| Central African Republic | Capital punishment legal | 1981 |
| Chad | Capital punishment legal | |
| Chile | No capital punishment | 1985 |
| China | Capital punishment legal | |
| Colombia | No capital punishment | 1909 |
| Comoros | Capital punishment legal | |
| Congo, Democratic | Capital punishment legal | |
| Congo, Republic | Capital punishment legal | 1982 |
| Cook Islands | No capital punishment | |
| Costa Rica | No capital punishment | 1877 |
| Côte d´Ivoire | No capital punishment | 1990 |
| Croatia | No capital punishment | |
| Cuba | Capital punishment legal | |
| Cyprus | No capital punishment | 1962 |
| Czech Republic | No capital punishment | 1990 |
| Denmark | No capital punishment | 1950 |
| Djibouti | No capital punishment | |
| Dominica | Capital punishment legal | |
| Dominican Republic | No capital punishment | 1966 |
| Ecuador | No capital punishment | 1906 |
| Egypt | Capital punishment legal | |
| El Salvador | No capital punishment | 1973 |
| Equatorial Guinea | Capital punishment legal | |
| Eritrea | Capital punishment legal | |
| Estonia | No capital punishment | 1991 |
| Ethiopia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Fiji Islands | No capital punishment | 1964 |
| Finland | No capital punishment | 1944 |
| France | No capital punishment | 1977 |
| Gabon | Capital punishment legal | |
| The Gambia | Capital punishment legal | 1981 |
| Georgia | No capital punishment | 1994 |
| Germany | No capital punishment | 1949 |
| Ghana | Capital punishment legal | |
| Greece | No capital punishment | 1972 |
| Grenada | Capital punishment legal | 1978 |
| Guatemala | Capital punishment legal | |
| Guinea | Capital punishment legal | |
| Guinea-Bissau | No capital punishment | 1986 |
| Guyana | Capital punishment legal | |
| Haiti | No capital punishment | 1972 |
| Honduras | No capital punishment | 1940 |
| Hungary | No capital punishment | 1988 |
| Iceland | No capital punishment | 1830 |
| India | Capital punishment legal | |
| Indonesia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Iran | Capital punishment legal | |
| Iraq | Capital punishment legal | |
| Ireland | No capital punishment | 1954 |
| Israel | No capital punishment | 1962 |
| Italy | No capital punishment | 1947 |
| Jamaica | Capital punishment legal | |
| Japan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Jordan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Kazakhstan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Kenya | Capital punishment legal | |
| Kiribati | No capital punishment | |
| Kuwait | Capital punishment legal | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Laos | Capital punishment legal | |
| Latvia | No capital punishment | 1996 |
| Lebanon | Capital punishment legal | |
| Lesotho | Capital punishment legal | |
| Liberia | No capital punishment | |
| Libya | Capital punishment legal | |
| Liechtenstein | No capital punishment | 1785 |
| Lithuania | No capital punishment | 1995 |
| Luxembourg | No capital punishment | 1949 |
| Macedonia | No capital punishment | |
| Madagascar | Capital punishment legal | 1958 |
| Malawi | Capital punishment legal | |
| Malaysia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Maldives | Capital punishment legal | 1952 |
| Mali | Capital punishment legal | 1980 |
| Malta | No capital punishment | 1943 |
| Marshall Islands | No capital punishment | |
| Mauritania | Capital punishment legal | 1987 |
| Mauritius | No capital punishment | 1987 |
| Mexico | No capital punishment | 1937 |
| Micronesia | No capital punishment | |
| Moldova | No capital punishment | 1995 |
| Monaco | No capital punishment | 1847 |
| Mongolia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Montenegro | No capital punishment | |
| Morocco | Capital punishment legal | |
| Mozambique | No capital punishment | 1986 |
| Myanmar | Capital punishment legal | |
| Namibia | No capital punishment | 1988 |
| Nauru | Capital punishment legal | |
| Nepal | No capital punishment | 1979 |
| The Netherlands | No capital punishment | 1952 |
| New Zealand | No capital punishment | 1957 |
| Nicaragua | No capital punishment | 1930 |
| Niger | Capital punishment legal | 1976 |
| Nigeria | Capital punishment legal | |
| Niue | No capital punishment | |
| North Korea | Capital punishment legal | |
| Norway | No capital punishment | 1948 |
| Oman | Capital punishment legal | |
| Pakistan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Palau | No capital punishment | |
| Panama | No capital punishment | 1903 |
| Papua New Guinea | Capital punishment legal | 1950 |
| Paraguay | No capital punishment | 1928 |
| Peru | No capital punishment | 1979 |
| Philippines | No capital punishment | 1976 |
| Poland | No capital punishment | 1988 |
| Portugal | No capital punishment | 1849 |
| Qatar | Capital punishment legal | |
| Romania | No capital punishment | 1989 |
| Russian Federation | Capital punishment legal | 1999 |
| Rwanda | Capital punishment legal | 1982 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of | Capital punishment legal | |
| Saint Lucia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Capital punishment legal | |
| Samoa | No capital punishment | |
| San Marino | No capital punishment | 1468 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | No capital punishment | 1990 |
| Saudi Arabia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Senegal | No capital punishment | 1967 |
| Serbia | No capital punishment | |
| Seychelles | No capital punishment | |
| Sierra Leone | Capital punishment legal | |
| Singapore | Capital punishment legal | |
| Slovakia | No capital punishment | 1990 |
| Slovenia | No capital punishment | 1989 |
| Solomon Islands | No capital punishment | 1966 |
| Somalia | Capital punishment legal | |
| South Africa | No capital punishment | 1991 |
| South Korea | Capital punishment legal | |
| Spain | No capital punishment | 1975 |
| Sri Lanka | Capital punishment legal | 1976 |
| Sudan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Suriname | Capital punishment legal | 1982 |
| Swaziland | Capital punishment legal | |
| Sweden | No capital punishment | 1910 |
| Switzerland | No capital punishment | 1944 |
| Syria | Capital punishment legal | |
| Tajikistan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Tanzania | Capital punishment legal | |
| Thailand | Capital punishment legal | |
| Timor-Leste | No capital punishment | |
| Togo | Capital punishment legal | |
| Tonga | Capital punishment legal | 1982 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Capital punishment legal | |
| Tunisia | Capital punishment legal | 1991 |
| Turkey | No capital punishment | 1984 |
| Turkmenistan | No capital punishment | |
| Tuvalu | No capital punishment | |
| Uganda | Capital punishment legal | |
| Ukraine | No capital punishment | |
| United Arab Emirates | Capital punishment legal | |
| United Kingdom | No capital punishment | 1964 |
| United States of America | Capital punishment legal | |
| Uruguay | No capital punishment | 1907 |
| Uzbekistan | Capital punishment legal | |
| Vanuatu | No capital punishment | |
| Vatican City | No capital punishment | |
| Venezuela | No capital punishment for any crimes | 1863 |
| Vietnam | Capital punishment legal | |
| Yemen | Capital punishment legal | |
| Zambia | Capital punishment legal | |
| Zimbabwe | Capital punishment legal |
Table 1: Source – Amnesty International
