What do three repressive dictatorships have in common with a benevolent world power that only wants to spread freedom, democracy, and extra-value meals around the world?
Well, according to Amnesty International, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the good old US of A are responsible for 91% of executions worldwide last year.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
By last year, 86 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes, Amnesty International says.
. . .
Eleven other countries have abolished the death penalty for all but the most exceptional offenses, including war crimes.
Seventy-four countries retain the death penalty. Of those, 25 have not carried out an execution in more than a decade, the report said.
. . .
There were 2,148 known executions in 22 countries last year.
. . .
About 80% of executions last year were in China, the report said.
. . .
About 11% of executions were in Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
In other words, approximately 91% of the 2,148 known executions last year were carried out by China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. The other 9% were spread out among 18 other countries.
This is bad company to be in. Even strong supporters of capital punishment should consider what it means that most of the world has rejected state-sponsored murder as barbaric. The countries that think like us on this issue are by and large police states.
Thankfully, the US Supreme Court found it unconstitutional to execute minors. Scalia and Thomas will be happy to learn that the Ayatollah shares their disgust with the majority opinion. Apparently, a strict interpretation of the Constitution finds that our founding fathers wanted the government to murder children. If the originalists on the Supreme Court had their way, the US and Iran would share the dubious honor of being the only countries in the world to execute children.