After America's first double execution since 2000, which countries still use the death penalty?

The state of Arkansas has carried out the first double execution in the U.S. since 2000 after putting Jack Jones and Marcel Williams to death three hours apart.

Nine people have now been executed in America this year – four in Texas, three in Arkansas and one each in Missouri and Virginia.

Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

But what other countries in the world still use the death penalty as the ultimate form of punishment?

China

According to figures from Amnesty International, China is the world’s top executioner, with a 1,032 deaths in 2016 alone. However, the true figure may in fact be a lot higher as thousands of executions carried out by the notoriously secretive state are believed to have been carried out and kept off official statistics.

Iran

Iran accounted for a staggering 66% of all recorded executions in the Middle East and North Africa in 2016. The region as a whole put 856 to death during this period, with at least 567 of these taking place in Iran. However, this figure still marks a 42% drop in executions from the previous year.

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Saudi Arabia

With at least 154 people executed in Saudi Arabia in 2016, one of the UK’s biggest allies maintained the highs of 158 killed in 2015 – the highest number of executions in the country since 1995. The death penalty is imposed for offences including murder, rape, blasphemy and adultery. Executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword.

Iraq

Capital punishment was reinstated in Iraq in 2004 after it was temporarily suspended in 2003 following the invasion of the country by U.S. troops. In 2016 it carried out at least 88 executions, including several terrorists who carried out the suicide truck bombing in Baghdad that killed over 250 people.

Pakistan

Executions in Pakistan decreased by 73% in 2016, with 88 being carried out – far lower than the 239 figure from the previous year. The country previously put to death prisoners under the age of 18 before making it the minimum age for execution. The only legal capital punishment method is hanging.

Egypt

Some 44 people were executed in Egypt in 2016, where the method of killing prisoners is the same as Pakistan – hanging. This is a far cry from ancient methods used in the country, which once included being burnt alive, decapitation and drowning.

While these countries are the top of the worldwide list of countries who carry out executions, there are dozens more – many of which Amnesty is unable to verify figures for.

Here are the countries in the world that still use the death penalty:

Botswana
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Lesotho
Libya
Nigeria
Somalia
Somaliland
South Sudan
Sudan
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Cuba
Dominica
Guatemala
Guyana
Jamaica
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
China
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Japan
Jordan
North Korea
Kuwait
Lebanon
Malaysia
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian Territories
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Syria
Taiwan
Thailand
UAE
Vietnam
Yemen
Belarus

Top pic: Rex

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