There was an “alarming rise” in death sentences around the world in 2014, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported [text] Tuesday. AI said there has been a 28 percent rise in death sentences from 2013—at least 2,466 compared to 1,925— and that an increased number of countries used capital punishment to deter crime, terrorism and domestic instability. AI reports that this spike in death sentences is largely due to Egypt and Nigeria, where there have been mass sentencings due to internal conflict and political instability. China again ranked as the top executioner in the world, carrying out more executions than the rest of the world combined. The other countries making up the world’s top five executioners in 2014 were Iran (289 officially announced and at least 454 more that were not acknowledged by the authorities), Saudi Arabia (at least 90), Iraq (at least 61) and the US (35). Although the number of death sentences greatly increased in 2014, AI also reported the there were fewer executions than the year before and that several countries took positive steps towards banning the death penalty altogether.

The death penalty [JURIST news archive] remains a controversial issue all over the world. In March Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill to restore the firing squad [JURIST report] as a method of execution, making Utah the only US state with the option. Also in March the Alabama House of Representatives voted [JURIST report] to bring back the use of the electric chair when chemicals for lethal injection are not available. Pakistani authorities hanged [JURIST report] 12 men in one day in March, the largest number of people executed in a single day following the preliminary removal of the country’s moratorium on executions in December. In January a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] voiced concern [JURIST report] over the continued use of the death penalty in Southeast Asia as punishment for drug-related crimes. In November China’s highest court, the the Supreme People’s Court [official website, in Chinese] decided to investigate [JURIST report] ways of reducing death penalty crimes.