Amnesty International has released its compilation of global data on the use of capital punishment around the world, from sentencing to execution.  Read the report, entitled “Death Penalty in 2019: Facts and Figures,” here.

Among the findings from Amnesty International are:

• during 2019, there were 657 executions in 20 countries;
• last year saw the fewest executions that Amnesty International has recorded in “at least a decade”;
• the top five countries carrying out executions in 2019 were ranked: China (1st), Iran (2nd), Saudi Arabia (3rd), Iraq (4th) and Egypt (5th); and
• four countries were responsible for 86% of all reported executions: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt.

Of course, China’s figures are not considered reliable, as the country considers its death penalty information to be a state secret.  How many people died last year in China as a result of capital punishment is unknown.

For more on China’s history with the death penalty, read earlier discussions in:

• Amnesty International Death Penalty Report: China Secrecy Still a Problem
• China Death Vans at an End? China Announces Cut in Crimes Carrying Death Penalty
• In Depth Look at the Law: Secrecy in China; Successfully Hiding the Truth About Executions for Profit from the World
• In Depth Look at the Law: China Death Vans and China’s Widespread Corruption; There is No Fairness in China’s Criminal Justice System
• In Depth Look at the Law: China Death Vans and the Sale of Human Organs Harvested from Death Penalty Executions.