The death penalty in the world

The death penalty in the world  

Mandatory death penalty to be abolished in Malaysia 

A large majority in the Malaysian parliament has voted to remove the mandatory death penalty from the country's punishment scale, the BBC reports. 

- The death penalty has not produced the result we had wanted, says the country's Deputy Minister of Justice Ramkarpal Singh in a speech in Parliament.  

There are a total of eleven crimes that only have the death penalty on the scale today.  

Judges will henceforth continue to be able to sentence criminals to death, but only in exceptional cases. The law has yet to be approved by the country's upper house, but according to the BBC, it would be very unexpected if it does not get the go-ahead.  

The BBC writes that the debate about the death penalty in Malaysia has been ongoing for several years. Monday's decision is seen as a major step towards the abolition of the death penalty.  

Demonstrations against the death penalty in the capital Kuala Lumpur. Vincent Thian / AP 

The death penalty in the world   

1,300 death row inmates in Malaysia hope for reconciliation  

More than 1,300 criminals sentenced to death in Malaysia are hoping for a reprieve after parliament voted on Monday to abolish the mandatory death penalty, The Star reports.  

The country's Deputy Attorney General Ramkarpal Singh says he has visited several death row inmates but that parliament's decision does not automatically mean they are pardoned. 

- Prisoners can continue to submit appeals to the state, he says.