Few nations use death penalty

(BBC): The world is moving nearer to ending the use of capital punishment, Amnesty International says, despite its latest report revealing a mixed picture. In its annual survey the group says 2,390 people were put to death in 2008, up from 1,252 in 2007. And 8,864 were sentenced to death, up from 3,347. Of 25 nations using the death penalty in 2008, China was the most prolific. But Amnesty said it was encouraging that just 59 nations retained the death penalty and so few actually used it. The group’s secretary general, Irene Khan, said such punishments as beheading, stoning and electrocution "have no place in the 21st Century".

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