Deadliest year in a decade for executions worldwide; U.S. among top 5 countries

The number of people put to death worldwide spiked by 30% in 2023, making it the deadliest year in nearly a decade, according to a new report released Tuesday by Amnesty International.

Rising numbers come as fewer countries use capital punishment. The U.S. saw an increase in executions and remains among the top 5 countries, but the sharp increase was driven by a 48% rise in Iran, according to the report.

The report, which tallied 1,153 executions worldwide, did not include the thousands of people estimated to have been executed by China, which keeps figures secret. The 2023 global total is the highest since 2015 when 1,634 people were executed worldwide.

After Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, the U.S. had the fourth highest number of recorded executions after putting 24 people to death, according to the report.

“Unfortunately, certain regions of the U.S. continue to cling to the idea that the death penalty is a deterrent and use it within ‘tough on crime’ initiatives, despite all empirical evidence to the contrary,” said Justin Mazzola, a researcher with Amnesty International. 

The total number of countries that performed executions fell from 20 in 2022 to 16, the smallest number ever recorded by Amnesty International, an international human rights organization.

More executions from fewer states

Like around the globe, the U.S. saw a rise in executions even as fewer states put people to death.

“A select number of US states demonstrated a chilling commitment to the death penalty and a callous intent to invest resources in the taking of human life,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said in a statement.

The five states that carried out executions were: Alabama, which executed 2; Florida, 6; Missouri, 4; Oklahoma, 4; and Texas, 8, according to the report. The six people in Florida were the first executed in the state since 2019.

Six states performed executions in 2022 and seven in 2021, when there were 11 executions nationwide, according to an executions database from the Death Penalty Information Center. 

The 33% rise in executions — after 18 in 2022 — made 2023 one of the deadliest years for capital punishment in the U.S. since 2015, according to the center. Five people have been executed in the U.S. in 2024 so far and 11 more are scheduled, including Jamie R. Mill’s execution in Alabama on Thursday. 

Rising numbers around the world

The spike in the number of executions worldwide was driven primarily by a sharp increase in Iran, where at least 853 people were executed, a 48% increase over the 576 in 2022, according to the Amnesty International report. 

“The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offences [sic], further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran’s most marginalized and impoverished communities,” said Callamard. 

The number of drug-related executions rose 88% from 255 in 2022 to 481, according to the report. 

Iran accounted for 74% of recorded executions, the report said. Saudi Arabia, which executed 172 people, accounted for 15%.

Executions also surged in Somalia, the report said. The Sub-Saharan nation put 38 people to death, after 6 people in 2022, more than tripling the total for the region. 

In addition to China, the report does not include figures for Vietnam and North Korea, where a new law makes the use of any language but Pyongyang Korean punishable by death. The two Pacific nations are expected to perform executions “extensively,” according to the report.

Shrinking number of countries perform executions

The number of countries performing executions fell to the lowest point ever recorded by Amnesty International after Belarus, Japan, Myanmar and South Sudan did not carry out executions in 2023, according to the report. 

The four countries executed 11 people in total in 2022, according to last year’s report.

Some countries also repealed death penalty laws, the 2023 report said. Pakistan scrapped the death penalty for drug-related offenses and Malaysia made it no longer mandatory. Bills to abolish capital punishment remain pending in Kenya, Liberia and Zimbabwe, and the Ghanaian parliament voted to scrap it though the West African country’s bills have not yet become law.

“Despite the setbacks that we have seen this year, particularly in the Middle East, countries that are still carrying out executions are increasingly isolated,” Callamard said. “Our campaigning against this abhorrent punishment works. We will continue until we have put an end to the death penalty.”