Kenya president commutes all capital sentences News
Kenya president commutes all capital sentences

[JURIST] Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta [BBC profile] on Monday commuted the sentences of all death row inmates to life in prison. The last execution in Kenya took place in 1987, though there were 2,655 male and 92 female death row inmates at the time of the commutations [The Star Kenya report]. He also invoked the constitutional Power of Mercy [text] to pardon and release 102 long-term convicts. However, critics have alleged that Kenyatta commuted the sentences in an attempt to gain popularity for the upcoming election.

Capital punishment remains a controversial issue worldwide. In August a UN rights expert expressed “outrage” [JURIST report] regarding Iran’s execution of 12 people for drug-related charges. In July Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that he would approve reinstating the death penalty [JURIST report] so long as the measure had sufficient support in the Grand National Assembly. In May a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned [JURIST report] Iranian authorities for the sentencing of Nargis Mohammadi, an anti-death penalty activist. Also in May UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein welcomed [JURIST report] the measures being taken by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to prevent the use of its drugs in state-sponsored execution by lethal injection.