Capital Punishment for Drug Offenses (Death Penalty and Extrajudicial Killings)
Related:
- Death Penalty Information Center: Overview of Federal Laws Providing for the Death Penalty
- The death penalty for drug offenses represents a violation of human and civil rights, it's not an effective deterrent, and it's counterproductive. For more information check out Harm Reduction International's "Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2021".
Page last updated March 10, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.
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1. Capital Punishment for Drug Offenses in the US - Federal Law Federal death penalty law: 18 USC § 3591(b) Gen Sander. The Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2017. Harm Reduction International, March 2018. |
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2. Global Overview of Capital Punishment for Drug Offenses " There are at least 33 countries and territories that prescribe the death penalty for drug offences in law. Gen Sander. The Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2017. Harm Reduction International, March 2018. |
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3. Federal Offenses Eligible for Death Penalty Table: Federal offenses eligible for death penalty US Attorneys Manual. Criminal Resource Manual. Capital Eligible Statutes Assigned by Section. Last accessed April 14, 2021. |
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4. Death Penalty for Drug Offenses "The Global Overview 2021 revealed that 2021 had ended as a year of mixed progress. On one side, the number of countries executing people for drug crimes had reached a decade-low, owing mostly to a halt in drug-related executions in Saudi Arabia and, to some extent, the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other side, a significant increase in confirmed executions had been recorded, largely attributable to a surge in Iran.6 In the course of 2022, the situation sharply deteriorated. "As of December 2022, Harm Reduction International (HRI) recorded at least 285 executions for drug offences globally during the year, a 118% increase from 2021, and an 850% increase from 2020. Executions for drug offences are confirmed or assumed to have taken place in six countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, plus in China, North Korea and Vietnam - on which exact figures cannot be provided because of extreme opacity. Therefore, this figure is likely to reflect only a percentage of all drug-related executions worldwide. Confirmed death sentences for drug offences were also on the rise; with at least 303 people sentenced to death in 18 countries. This marks a 28% increase from 2021. "These setbacks were not completely unexpected, nor unpredictable. After defending its barbaric policy on the death penalty throughout 2021, Singapore issued execution warrants again# individuals convicted of drug trafficking in February 2022. These were eventually delayed after legal appeals and pleas from families and civil society, but more execution warrants quickly followed. In Saudi Arabia, civil society had warned of the risk of resumption in drug-related executions since the partial moratorium was announced in 2021. When the Kingdom carried out the worst mass execution in its history in March 2022, the risk became even more apparent. Similarly, Iranian civil society warned of the risk of a spike in executions, absent persistent international pressure." Giada Girelli, Marcela Jofré, and Ajeng Larasati. The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2022. London, England: Harm Reduction International, 2023. |
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5. The Death Penalty In 2022 "• 35 countries retain the death penalty for a range of drug offences worldwide. In 2022, drug-related executions were confirmed in four countries (China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore). Executions are assumed to have been carried out in North Korea and Vietnam, but !ate secrecy and censorship in these countries does not enable confirmation of a minimum figure. "• Two countries resumed drug-related executions after a short hiatus: Singapore, after a two-year pause, and Saudi Arabia, which reneged on its 2021 declaration of a moratorium on executions for non-violent offences. "• At least 285 drug-related executions were carried out in 2022 (excluding figures from China, Vietnam, and North Korea). Despite being a gross underestimation, this still represents a 118% increase from 2021, and a staggering 850% increase from 2020. "• Drug offences were responsible for roughly 32% (or one in three) of all executions confirmed globally. This is the highest recorded figure in six years. "• Almost nine out of ten confirmed executions for drug offences took place in Iran. "• 303 death sentences for drug offences were confirmed in 18 countries (dozens more are likely). This represents a 28% increase in reported sentences from 2021. "• At least 3700 people are currently on death row for drug offences in 19 countries. "• People who are marginalised, including because of their socioeconomic status, ethnicity, drug use, mental and/or intellectual disability, and nationality, continue to be disproportionately impacted by the death penalty for drug offences. For example, In Iran, 40% of those executed for drug offences identified as Baluchi. This ethnic group represents around 2% of the total population. "• Two countries (Cuba and Sri Lanka) expanded the applicability of the death penalty for drug offences in law in 2022. "• Transparency remains a critical issue that hinders monitoring of the death penalty for drug offences, and as a consequence advocacy towards death penalty abolition. Throughout 2022, states not only failed to publish complete figures on the death penalty for drug offences, but also actively repressed civil society groups, activists and lawyers monitoring and challenging the use of capital punishment." Giada Girelli, Marcela Jofré, and Ajeng Larasati. The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2022. London, England: Harm Reduction International, 2023. |