8/18/2019 Just Say No to China's Death Penalty for Drug Users

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Just Say " to China's Death Penalty for Drug Users

Rarely used in mo

nations, China is

one of six

countries that

routinely executeas the penalty for

some drug crimes

China has been

using the death

penalty for drug

offences since the

1940’s, and is also

thought to execufor more drug related crimes than any other country. Between January and May of 2014 drug

convictions in China were 27% higher than they were during that same period the year prior.

“The death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence not a solution to it.” 

-Amnesty Internation

This method of punishment is often used within skewed criminal justice systems. Some of the

countries executing the most people have deeply unfair legal systems. The ‘top’ three executincountries – China, Iran and Saudi Arabia – often issue death sentences following unfair trials.

Many of which are issued after ‘confessions’ that have been obtained through torture. These

same three nations are responsible for 546 out of 549 drug related executions in 2013. China

alone was responsible for roughly 35% of those deaths.

“The death penalty is the ultimate irreversible denial of human rights.” 

-Amnesty Internation

Last year China executed more people than the rest of the world put together, but with death

penalty figures treated as a state secret, the exact number is impossible to determine. Based on

the data that we are able to confirm, people convicted on drug-related offences make up a

significant proportion of those executed. China has made tentative steps to cut down on its us

of the death penalty in recent years, including by reducing the crimes punishable by death.

Drug-related crimes, however, continue to attract the death penalty.