FEATURED POST

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Pudu Jail and the death penalty in Malaysia

Published
Former malaysian hangman
Many of Malaysia’s most infamous criminals were put to death at Pudu Jail in Kuala Lumpur.

The death penalty can be handed down for 33 offences in Malaysia and it is mandatory for 12, of which drug trafficking offences are the most common and the most controversial.

According to Amnesty International’s report, “Fatally Flawed: Why Malaysia Must Abolish The Death Penalty”, which was issued in October last year, there were 1,281 people on death row as at February last year, of whom 73% had been convicted of drug-related offences.

By gender, 89% were men and 568 of these prisoners were foreign nationals.

The main nationalities were Nigerian (21%), Indonesian (16%), Iranian (15%), Indian (10%), Filipino (8%) and Thai (6%).

Twelve executions have been carried out since 2010, with the four most recent being in 2017, according to Amnesty International.

Having been under pressure for many years to follow the world trend to abolish the death penalty, the government announced in 2018 that it would scrap the mandatory death sentence for 11 offences and a moratorium on executions was implemented in July 2018.

However, many Malaysians remain in favour of retaining the death penalty.

The method of execution is hanging.  

Many of the country’s most infamous criminals were put to death at Pudu Jail, once a well-known landmark in Kuala Lumpur. The building has since been demolished.
Those on death row can languish for up to 11 years before their sentence is carried out.

The retired former chief hangman gave an interview to the press in 2016, in which he revealed that he had conducted over 130 hangings in five Malaysian jails during his career.

RELATED | Former Malaysian hangman gives rare insight into death row inmates' final hours

Seventy were performed by him personally and another 60 under his supervision. 

He said executions always take place at dawn when the jail is quiet and the condemned prisoner is rested.

Sometimes it is all over within 10 seconds of the prisoner entering the execution chamber. 

The prisoner is given only 24 hours’ notice before being executed. 

Relatives are allowed to visit on the final day.

Source: freemalaysiatoday.com, Malaysia Traveller, June 29, 2020


⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Read more

Japan | Death-row inmates' lawsuit targeting same-day notifications of executions dismissed

Published
Image
The Osaka District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by death row inmates that claimed same-day notifications of executions violate the Constitution — the first ruling of its kind. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the government in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners. They also sought ¥22 million in compensation and plan to appeal to a higher court.
Read more

Texas | State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio’s death sentence

Published
Image
In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler. A district judge who previously presided over a woman’s capital murder case recommended last week that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Melissa Lucio's 2008 conviction after a district attorney’s office admitted that prosecutors withheld evidence from her defense.
Read more

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Arizona death penalty case that could redefine historic precedent

Published
Image
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments centering on an Arizona death row prisoner that could set new precedent to determining ineffective assistance of counsel.  A Mohave County Superior Court jury convicted Danny Lee Jones for the 1992 murders of Robert Weaver and his daughter Tisha, as well as the attempted murder of Weaver’s grandmother. A judge sentenced Jones to death for the two murders.
Read more

Iran | Probable Child Offender and Child Bride, Husband Executed for Drug Charges

Published
Image
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 15 2024: Marjan Hajizadeh and Esmail Hassaniani, a couple sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison.  Marjan is reported to have been 16 at the time of arrest, which IHRNGO is working to confirm. If verified, she will be the first child offender executed for drug charges since 2014. She was also a child bride forced into marriage.
Read more

Bill Moves Forward to Prevent Use of Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation in Louisiana Executions

Published
Image
There’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430. When Louisiana legislators approved the use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as an execution method during a second special legislative session in February, the move attracted national attention; not the least because it has only been used in the U.S. once. That’s when Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25th of this year. Now there’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430.
Read more