June 24
CHINA:
More than 5,400 executions were carried out in the world in 2004, slightly
down on the previous year, with almost 90% of them in China, said an
organisation that campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty.
The Hands Off Cain organisation said on Friday, out of the 5,476
executions that took place in 2004, at least 5 000 were in China.
The report said: "But, the number of reported executions in China, the top
executioner worldwide, was always thought to be much lower than reality."
In 2003, there were a total of 5 607 executions worldwide.
Iran was in 2nd place with 197 executions, up from 154 in 2003, followed
by Vietnam with 82.
Death penalty in US
It said the death penalty was carried on 59 people in United States,
compared to 65 in 2003 and 71 in 2002.
The report said: "Of the 38 states, out of 50 that practice the death
penalty in the US, 11 carried out executions - the lowest number since
1993.
"As has been the case since the reintroduction of the death penalty in
1976, the majority of executions took place in southern states, 80% of the
total in 2003."
Hand Off Cain also noted that a worldwide trend towards abolition in the
last 10 years was confirmed in 2003.
It said: "Throughout the year and the first 5 months of 2004, 5
retentionist states became abolitionist to different extents.
"Benin, Ghana, Malawi and Morocco, passed the 10-year mark from the last
execution to become de facto abolitionists."
Hands Off Cain, founded in 1993, describes itself as "a league of citizens
and parliamentarians for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide."
(source: News 24)
