The use of capital punishment in Italy has been banned since 1889, with the exception of the period 1926–1947, encompassing the rule of Fascism in Italy and the early restoration of democracy.
The Italian Constitution, into force since January 1948, completely abolished the death penalty for all common military and civil crimes during peacetime. This measure was implemented by Legislative Decree No. 21/48.
Since 1946, though, death penalty was discontinued in Italy, and death was substituted with life imprisonment. Italian law also uses the felony murder rule for various violent crimes, which also provides for a mandatory life sentence. Sentences of life imprisonment are subject to parole or probation.
In Europe, only Belarus continues to actively use capital punishment. Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, the latter of which has a moratorium and has not conducted an execution since 1996.
The death penalty was completely abolished in Australia with the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Bill 2009 passing the Australian Senate without amendments in March 2010.
punishment in Australia (in 1984), New South Wales did in fact retain some residual offences relating to piracy and treason, which continued to carry the death penalty. However these anomalies were swept away with the passing of the Crimes (Death Penalty Abolition) Amendment Act, 1985.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty for murder in Japan, and is applied in cases of multiple murder or aggravated single murder. Executions in Japan are carried out by hanging, and the country has seven execution chambers, all located in major cities.
Capital punishment in France (French: peine de mort en France) is banned by Article 66-1 of the Constitution of the French Republic, voted as a constitutional amendment by the Congress of the French Parliament on 19 February 2007 and simply stating "No one can be sentenced to the death penalty" (French: Nul ne peut ...
Capital punishment in Germany has been abolished for all crimes, and is now explicitly prohibited by constitution. It was abolished in West Germany in 1949, in the Saarland in 1956 (as part of the Saarland joining West Germany and becoming a state of West Germany), and East Germany in 1987.
The use of capital punishment in Italy has been banned since 1889, with the exception of the period 1926–1947, encompassing the rule of Fascism in Italy and the early restoration of democracy.
Sellia, Italy
The mayor, worried about the town dying out, decreed that all people are 'forbidden to get ill within the municipality' and that 'dying is prohibited'. It was essentially meant as a well-intentioned gesture on the mayor's part, encouraging people to take care of their health more prudently.
Most of the crimes in Italy revolve around theft, fraud, pickpocketing, scams, and organized crime.
Italy has always been at the forefront of the list of Abolitionist Countries and it participates in a UN interregional Task Force committed to promoting the abolition of the death penalty at international level.
In China, where numbers remain a state secret, thousands of people are believed to be executed and sentenced to death each year. As our chart shows, Iran comes second only after China with at least 576 people known to have been executed in 2022, up 55 percent from the year.
In 2022, four countries including Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic abolished the death penalty for all crimes, bringing the total number of abolitionist countries up to 112.
25 June 2021
Australia's last execution took place in February 1967. Six years later, the Commonwealth Parliament passed the Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973 (Cth) (1973 Act). Similar State legislation outlawed the practice in the remaining Australian jurisdictions.
The Human Rights Act formally abolished the death penalty in the UK. This means that a public official, including the police or courts, cannot execute someone or sentence them to death as punishment for something they have done. This applies in all circumstances, including during peacetime and times of conflict.
The Constitution of Norway was extensively amended in May 2014. The new article 93 in the constitution explicitly prohibits capital punishment ("Every person has the right to life.
Does Canada have the death penalty? The death penalty in Canada was abolished on December 10, 1998. On that date, all remaining references to the death penalty were removed from the National Defence Act – the only section of the law that, since 1976, still provided for execution under the law.
Capital punishment in Sweden was last used in 1910, though it remained a legal sentence for at least some crimes until 1973. It is now outlawed by the Swedish Constitution, which states that capital punishment, corporal punishment, and torture are strictly prohibited.
The 1978 Spanish Constitution bans capital punishment in Spain, except for wartime offences.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China. It is commonly applied for murder and drug trafficking, and is a legal penalty for other offenses. Executions are carried out by lethal injection or by shooting.
Hanging is the only common method of execution in 21st-century Iran, usually carried out in prison. Compared to other countries that use hanging (such as Japan or Malaysia) with a complex gallows designed to drop the condemned and break the neck, Iran's gallows are very simple and inexpensive.
Capital punishment in Thailand is enforced by lethal injection. The death penalty is not imposed immediately. There is a delay because a convict can appeal to two more courts and can apply for King's pardon. The death punishment is carried out in the Bang Kwang Prison in Bangkok (also known as “Bangkok Hilton”).