Comparing Death Penalty Codes

Cook County kept a gallows around until 1977 in case "Terrible Tommy" O'Connor, who escaped on the eve of his execution in 1921, was ever apprehended. (Chicago Tribune 1977 / March 6, 2011)

Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole. Quinn signed the legislation surrounded by longtime opponents of capital punishment.

10 things you might not know about the death penalty

A comparative look at capital punishment

UK -- Death Penalty? No

The death penalty in Britain was abolished for murder in 1965, but it was not until 1998 that the Government abolished it for treason and piracy when it passed the Crime and Disorder Act. In 2002, the death penalty was abolished in all British territories.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article816637.ece

Russia -- Death Penalty? No, moratorium

Russian announced the moratorium in 1996 when it joined the Council of Europe, although it retains capital punishment in its criminal code. Russia's ban on the death penalty will remain when a current legal suspension expires on 1 January, the country's Constitutional Court has ruled (2009). Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Russians back the death penalty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8367831.stm

China -- Death Penalty? Yes, more executions than the rest of the world combined

Just two weeks ago, China removed 13 offences from the list of 68 crimes punishable by death.
But death penalty campaigners say the revision of the country's criminal code will not necessarily lead to a significant fall in the numbers of criminals executed.

The offences were all economic crimes for which the death penalty was rarely if ever applied.

It is impossible to say what impact it will have on the number of people given the death penalty each year here.

That figure is a state secret, but China is thought to execute more people than the rest of the world put together.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12580504

Iran -- Death Penalty? Yes, especially if a political protester

An Iranian military court has sentenced two men to death in connection with the killings of three anti-government protesters, the state news agency said.

Prosecutors said the three died after a series of beatings in Iran's Kahrizak jail, where they were held for taking part in last year's election protests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10466595

Nigeria -- Death Penalty? Yes, mostly young, poor, with no real appeal process

As of February 2008, 725 men and 11 women were on death row in Nigeria. At least 40 of them were under 18. About 53 percent were convicted of murder. Most of the rest were convicted of armed robbery and robbery.

Hundreds of people on death row in Nigeria did not have a fair trial and may therefore be innocent, according to a new Amnesty International report.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/poverty-and-the-death-penalty-in-nigeria-20081021

Mexico -- Death Penalty? No, but maybe under further review

The Congress in Mexico has agreed to debate the issue of reinstating capital punishment for some crimes (2009).

Mexico abolished capital punishment in 2005, but recent surveys suggest that 70% of Mexicans are in favour of the death penalty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7846249.stm