Zimbabwe Abolishes Death Penalty

Zimbabwe has abolished the death penalty, a widely expected move in a country that last carried out the punishment nearly two decades ago (article available here).

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who once faced the death penalty himself in the 1960s during the war of independence, approved the law this week after a bill passed through Parliament.

The country last executed someone in 2005, partly because at one point no one was willing to take up the job of state executioner.

Iran and Saudi Arabia accounted for almost 90% of all executions in 2023, followed by Somalia and the U.S.