The Dhaka Times Desk India has finally executed the death sentences of Nirbhaya's four rapists and murderers. The date of execution of their death sentence had been postponed several times earlier.
To reduce crime in the society, death penalty exists in many countries of the world including Bangladesh. Ever since humans have bound themselves to social norms, the highest punishment for breaking those norms has been death. However, the death penalty is not executed in the same way in all countries. Executions ranged from impaling, guillotining to the electric chair or hanging. The method of capital punishment has also changed over time and across countries. However, most countries in the world have abolished the death penalty since the Second World War.
According to the statistics of the international human rights organization Amnesty in April 2018, the death penalty is currently banned in 106 countries (more than half) of the world. In another 36 countries, although the death penalty is legal, it is not effective. In other words, 142 (more than two-thirds of the world) countries do not have the death penalty.
56 countries in the world have more or less death penalty. China has the highest number of executions. The United States is the only country in North America where the death penalty still exists. But not in all provinces. In 2018, 25 people were executed in America. Among them, the highest number of executions was carried out in the state of Texas with a total of 13 people.
According to Amnesty International, 2,531 people were sentenced to death in 54 countries in 2018. At last count, there are currently at least 19,336 people awaiting execution around the world. But compared to 2017, the number of executions in the world decreased by about 31 percent in 2018.
According to Amnesty's report, at least 1,000 people were executed in China in 2018. But China, which has always shrouded itself in secrecy and mystery, never officially releases any information about the death penalty.
Excluding China, 690 people were executed worldwide in 2018. The lion's share (78 percent) is in four Asian countries - Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Iraq.
Iran and Saudi Arabia carry out between 150 and 250 executions each year. In North and South Korea, capital punishment is given for serious crimes.
Even in India, capital punishment is imposed on conviction for serious crimes. India's last death penalty was carried out in 2015. 1993 Mumbai attacks convict Yakub Memon was hanged.
Outside of these countries, the death penalty is still carried out in Asia in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
There is no death penalty except in 3 European countries. One of the conditions for inclusion in the European Union (EU) is that the death penalty cannot be imposed in member states. Latvia abolished this sentence in 2012 following its accession to the EU. In Europe, only Belarus, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic carry the death penalty.
The death penalty is still on the books in Russia. However, this extreme punishment was implemented in the country in 1999. In Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, this sentence is imposed for exceptional crimes.
In Africa, the death penalty is carried out in Botswana, Egypt, Somalia, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan and Nigeria. Although Shaad abolished the death penalty in 2014, it sentenced 10 militants to death the following year.
In North America, only the United States has this sentence in force. However, not all of the United States, but 29 of the 50 states of that country have this disenfranchisement.
In Central and South America, Belize and Guyana also have the death penalty. In Brazil, El Salvador, Chile, Guatemala and Peru this sentence is imposed in exceptional and special cases.
In tropical Oceania, only Papua New Guinea and Tongo still have capital punishment laws. But in the last 3 decades no extreme punishment has been effectively carried out in these two countries.
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