Extract of the speech given by Robert Badinter, Minister of Justice, on the abolition of the death penalty, before the National Assembly on 17 September in French. Under French law, it is forbidden to transfer people to a country where they could face the death penalty.
The abolition of the death penalty was incorporated into the Constitution of the Fifth Republic by the Constitutional Act of 23 February Year after year, we are observing a downward trend in the number of death sentences and executions worldwide. Over the past 20 years, more than 50 states have abolished it in law.
However, the death penalty is still applied in 54 states and territories. In , 18 States carried out executions, compared to 20 in and The latest annual report by Amnesty International recorded confirmed executions in , continuing the significant downward trend observed over the last few years executions were recorded in , 1, in , and 1, in The number of death sentences recorded in 2, slightly declined compared to 2, It is important to remember that the real figure of total executions is hard to establish given the lack of official statistics in some countries, including China.
Go to the main menu Go to the mobile menu Go to main content. Lethal injection is currently the primary method of execution in 28 of the 29 states that authorize executions. Texas was the first state to use the method, in In , South Carolina became the first state to depart from using lethal injection as a primary execution method.
It is the only state in which electrocution is primary, with firing squad and lethal injection, authorized by statute as secondary methods of execution. In addition to South Carolina, 15 other states have a secondary method of execution authorized by statute.
Secondary methods of execution include electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia, and firing squad. For example, see La Grand v. Stewart, F. The purple states only have a single method: lethal injection. Blue states have secondary methods of execution. Click on those states to display details on secondary methods. The gray states do not have capital punishment. Note that Colorado and New Hampshire prospectively abolished capital punishment. In Colorado, the governor commuted the sentences of those on death row, but defendants with pending cases at the time of abolition are still eligible for execution and the execution statute is still valid.
In New Hampshire one individual remains on death row. The purple states only have a single method: lethal injection and blue states have both a primary and a secondary method. Click on those states to display details on specific methods. December - The New Jersey General Assembly votes to become the first state to legislatively abolish capital punishment since it was re-instated in February - The Nebraska Supreme Court rules electrocution, the sole execution method in the state, to be cruel and unusual punishment, effectively freezing all executions in the state.
June - Kennedy v. Capital punishment cannot apply to those convicted of child rape where no death occurs. March - Governor Bill Richardson signs legislation to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico, replacing it with life without parole.
March - Governor Pat Quinn signs legislation to repeal the death penalty in Illinois, replacing it with life without parole.
For the Media. For Educators. Fact Sheet. Late s - United States abolitionist movement begins. Early s - Many states reduce their number of capital crimes and build state penitentiaries. Guided discretion statutes approved.
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