Comparing Death Rows Around the World

death row is the part of a prison that houses inmates awaiting the sentence of capital punishment for some seriously heinous crimes while capital punishment is an intensely controversial issue it's still famously legal across the united states but the u. s isn't the only country in the world with a death row from the crimes that can land you there to the last meal you're given it all varies wildly depending on where you're condemned so let's take a look at some of the most shocking differences in death rows around the world oh boy this one is gonna be an eye-opener for sure the countries as of january 2021 109 countries have abolished capital punishment entirely these include all european union countries plus the uk australia canada mongolia argentina mexico the philippines and many more now a further 28 countries are classed as abolitionists in practice meaning they uphold capital punishment in law but haven't officially carried a sentence out in more than 10 years these include the russian federation myanmar morocco algeria kenya and most surprisingly south korea a country more famous for its k-pop and k-drama than its k-apital punishment makes you wonder if squid game was more of a documentary just eight reserve the penalty for serious offenses like war crimes in countries that have had issues with uprisings against leading regimes in the recent past for that look to brazil kazakhstan guatemala and several others but then there's the shockingly high 55 retentionist countries the ones where the penalty is fully upheld within the law if shocking news headlines are anything to go by you're probably thinking that alongside the us these are mainly countries known for their harsh punishments like china saudi arabia and north korea but surprisingly japan is also on that list the only fully democratic country to do so before the keyboard warriors butt in the u. s technically classes as a democratic republic making japan's position on the penalty all the more shocking man despite appearances not every european country is abolitionist here's looking at you belarus led by an authoritarian regime belarus's government mainly uses its punishing power to suppress political unrest however the use of capital punishment is also a major hurdle that's prevented the country from becoming part of the european union now despite what many people think the death sentence isn't legal in every state in the u.

s currently 24 states allow it 23 don't and three have moratoriums in place meaning prisoners can still be given the sentence but the death part is temporarily pardoned so if you're planning on doing anything criminally dumb in the near future be sure not to do it in any of these places if you don't want to end up paying with your life but no matter where you are in the world it's not a crime to hit those like and subscribe buttons down below all done great because you're not going to believe some of the stuff we're about to get into the crimes they say if you're prepared to do the crime then be prepared to do the time but some crimes have more time attached to them depending on where you are in the world and in some places your time would be well and truly up let's start in the us here there are 42 capital offenses you can commit that'll guarantee you a spot on death row homicide is the big one with other more specific crimes such as willful wrecking of a train resulting in death or mailing injurious articles with fatal intent others are less obvious though such as espionage the practice of spying or treason which is defined as levying war against the government because these acts pose a serious threat to national security especially in times of war they're considered crimes worthy of the death penalty but not so in other countries over in japan capital punishment is only doled out for crimes that meet a very strict nine-point criteria called the nagayama standard here elements of the crime like the degree of viciousness the motive remorsefulness and sentiments of bereaved family members are weighed against each other in particular the number of victims involved tips the scale heavily so the sentence is usually only reserved for serial homicides as such only 16 of the 130 death sentences japanese courts have handed out since 1993 have involved a single victim that's just 12 percent in nearby north korea it's a little bit more uh strict the militaristic rule of the country means crimes against the state are considered the worst of all so alongside homicide and treason comparatively smaller crimes like counterfeiting smuggling and the vaguely titled offense of grave misdemeanor can all warrant the death penalty i mean what does a grave misdemeanor even entail are we talking robbery or swearing assault or putting raisins in cookies theft or farting in an enclosed space when people are around you it could be anything as bad as north korea's vague laws sound they're nothing compared to nigeria's in 12 predominantly muslim states in the north of the country a strict islamic law called sharia law operates in the criminal as well as the super religious domain because of the strict religious ruling capital punishment is handed out for things like adultery homosexuality and even blasphemy specifically speaking ill of islam's holy figures will land you in hot water so bad-mouthing god in the highly conservative parts of this country can book you an express ticket to meet the big man himself but even nigeria's laws look tame compared to saudi arabia's sharia law is absolute there so crimes like blasphemy or waging war on god are also punished in this country with the death penalty but they take this stance so seriously that witchcraft can also land saudi citizens with a capital sentence practicing sorcery magic or anything supernatural is considered a capital offense no that'd make for one really harrowing harry potter book that's for sure the conditions once the death sentence has been passed in the court of law the life of a prisoner changes dramatically having been condemned to the worst fate imaginable their world is turned upside down and placed behind bars now usually in america prisoners who are just serving time are kept in general population here most get their own tiny cells to sleep in ranging from about 50 to 70 square feet in size complete with a sanitary facility and a bed while they sleep alone they can still mingle with other prisoners during the day take on jobs like canteen cooking inside the facility and depending on the state they're in can access the outside yard every day that's about all the liberties they get though which sounds incredibly restrictive over on death row though inmates can only dream of such freedoms according to florida's department of correctional facilities death row inmates are kept in cells just 54 square feet in size these can include a toilet but don't always include washing facilities to clean themselves they're escorted in handcuffs to showers and watched the entire time by several wardens in case they get any bright ideas there's no canteen for these guys just three square meals served in the cells at 5am 10 30 am and 4 pm and the only cutlery they're allowed is a spork they can have snacks radios even small 13-inch tvs to keep the boredom at bay but there's no ac no cable tv or streaming services and they're rarely allowed to mingle with other prisoners they're allowed out of their cell for up to one hour a day for exercise and visitation rights but the other 23 they spend in solitary confinement however once their death warrant is signed meaning all their appeals have failed they get moved to a slightly larger 84 square foot cell that's about the only upgrade there is though as all radios and tvs are moved outside the cells and they can only watch or listen to them through the bars over in texas though the restrictions are even more severe while each cell is guaranteed to have a window there's no word on what the view is like on top of that tvs are out of the question and depending on their custody level only some inmates may have access to a radio till past the time but if we rewind to 2016 and head over to delaware back when the death penalty was still legal in the state restrictions were a little laxer single cells were roughly 91 square feet in size but inmates could also be housed with other prisoners in some maximum security units depending on the restriction level of the units they were assigned to these inmates could even eat in the dining hall with everyone else not only that but they could also enjoy up to 21 hours a week of exercise shower and visitation time it's not exactly what i would call comfortable but that's almost luxurious compared to current conditions in alabama here cells can be as small as just 40 square feet all around that's barely what you'd call closet space there are no windows and no ac and with alabama summers averaging a scorching 90 degrees fahrenheit the heat is often unbearable some prisoners are issued with a fan but it doesn't do much and many resort to standing in their toilets to try and cool down but that's just the usa so how do these conditions compare to the rest of the world well if we take a trip over to japan it's actually not all that different like america death row cells here are solitary and tiny but at around 80 square feet they're bigger than most of the others we've seen although you might notice that they don't contain a bed in traditional japanese custom the beds fold out giving inmates more room to repent i suppose it also includes a toilet bookshelf and low sink but to prevent the inmates from harming themselves each has been designed with round corners even the taps on the sink are operated by a timeout button so they can't flood the cells like america inmates are fed three times a day on a diet that consists pretty rigidly of just rice soup and a small portion of meat or fish they do not have access to a commissary or prison shop so there's no additional food on the menu on top of that tvs are out of the question and depending on their custody level only some inmates may have access to a radio to help pass the time they're allowed to bathe just three times a week during the hot summer months and only two during the winter the only reprieve they do get is a 30 minute stint of exercise in a fenced yard every day this doesn't sound good but it's practically heaven compared to india's death rows india is incredibly secretive about its death row practices and rarely releases any official documents about the conditions its inmates are kept under but some stories told by prisoners who had their convictions overturned paint a pretty bleak story they're held in solitary confinement for most of the day and conversation with any other inmates is strictly prohibited there's no air conditioning despite temperatures rising to 113 degrees fahrenheit in the summer but the cells do have windows unfortunately many look out over a set of gallows in the prison yard serving as an unavoidable torturous reminder of the fate that awaits them in vietnam though it gets worse like india very little is known about the death row system here but the laws require inmates to be held in solitary confinement and monitored around the clock according to stories from former inmates if a death row prisoner is deemed particularly dangerous they have one of their feet shackled to the cell in these cases the prisoners are only released from the shackles for 15 minutes a day in which time they can bathe eat and use the toilet oh man that sounds so bad it almost makes alabama look good the weight once the gavel comes down and the death sentence is passed prisoners aren't immediately shipped off to the afterlife in many countries the appeals and potential exoneration process is a long and arduous one that can see prisoners pacing around their cells for years but it's not the same the world over so let's start in america with so many legal hoops to jump through regarding appeals scheduling petitions supreme court decisions and trials that can last decades prisoners can expect to wait an average of 22 years between sentencing and punishment during this time around 25 percent of inmates pass away from natural causes back in the 1990s though this was an average of just eight years but the complexity and time-consuming nature of the sentences plus the ever-growing backlog of cases has seen this wait time increase and that's just the average inmate raymond riles spent more than 45 years on death row in texas before being re-sentenced to life in prison in 2021 but once the death warrant has been signed depending on the state prisoners will be informed they have between just 10 and 90 days to make their peace over in japan trials can also last decades thanks to the legal system but prisoners here aren't often given the luxury of a death date so little warning is given some inmates are only informed of their execution on the day it happens this makes the story of the world's longest surviving death row inmate ewau hakamata even more amazing as he survived on death row for more than 48 years fortunately he was acquitted after it was discovered police and falsified evidence against him that's a long time not knowing if today will be your last for a crime you didn't commit however when it comes to waiting few countries are as scarily efficient as china the country itself is very private regarding its death row process even so an in-depth study based on scraps of information leaked from the country has led experts to believe that the average time between sentencing and punishment is a harrowingly short 50 days that's less than two months it sounds impossibly quick but considering china is the world's leading executioner with thousands of citizens estimated to meet this fate every year it would certainly make sense in comparison just 17 capital sentences were carried out across the u. s in 2020 but in belarus the time an inmate has to make peace with the final ruling is even quicker it's reported that the convict in question is informed that all their appeals have either failed or been denied just two minutes before the sentence is carried out i'm not sure which would be worse waiting for days or given a few minutes to come to terms with it all what do you think let me know down in the comments last meals if you knew the next meal you ate would be your last what would you go for i'd choose a big juicy steak with all the trimmings and a huge chocolate brownie for dessert man that sounds good but for a lot of prisoners on death row the last meal they eat isn't always something they have a choice in in the u. s last meals are often served to inmates a few days before their date with destiny most can order anything they want well almost anything prisons can deny requests for alcohol or tobacco products and others can limit the requests to items that can only be obtained within the prison system that can mean no fast food no local gourmet restaurant delivery and even no home-cooked meal from their family many states also have a cost limit on the last meals of their prisoners in florida the meal can cost up to forty dollars but in oklahoma it can only cost up to fifteen dollars sounds kinda stingy but it's better than being in texas currently prisoners aren't even allowed to pick their last meal they used to be able to but back in 2011 death row inmate lawrence brewer ordered a huge banquet of food for his last meal and then refused to eat it once it arrived so texas changed its policy and now none of texas's death row inmates get a say in what they're served but many states have been pretty lenient in the past allowing inmates to order whatever they want before illinois inmate john wayne gacy received his capital punishment back in 1994 he was able to order a bucket of kfc fries 12 fried shrimp a pound of fresh strawberries and a coke on the other end of the spectrum back in 1963 iowa inmate victor feger ordered a single olive with the stone still in it he hoped the stone would sprout into a tree on his grave as a symbol of peace but for all his good intentions that never happened one of the stranger requests a texas prison received before the ban on last meals came from james edward smith back in 1990 who requested a plate of dirt not just any old dirt raykunda dirt earth taken from someone's grave it's often associated with voodoo rituals and james believed that by eating it he wouldn't become a ghost suffice to say this was a little too macabre for the wardens to fulfill he got a yogurt instead now last meals aren't guaranteed all over the world in indonesia last meal requests on death row generally aren't taken however back in 2015 members of the bali nine smuggling gang were allowed to order pizza and kfc in the days leading up to their date with fate here food can also be provided by family members and split between prisoners if they feel like sharing over in malaysia last meals are often made from a fixed variety of food including steak fried chicken plain rice vegetables salad milk orange juice and water although some inmates who declined last meals in the past were sometimes given a simple kfc dinner instead hang on what's the deal with kfc being a last meal of choice for so many people i guess it's tasty cheap and easy to get a hold of well at least they're able to take that meal off their kfc bucket list in taiwan the rules around alcohol on death row are a little laxer a final meal of the prisoner's choice such as traditional bento is served with a bottle of cauliang liqueur it's a very strong sogrum-based drink which is popular across china and taiwan i'm sure having the whole bottle to yourself would take the edge off even the most nervous inmate what about somewhere a bit bigger like india while there's no last meal ritual stipulated in the law prison authorities reportedly do make exceptions for inmates in their final hours in 2012 prisoner ajmal khazab apparently requested a couple of tomatoes the guards generously offered him an entire basketful but he only took two and of them he only munched on one knowing all that where would you want your last meal to be let me know down below the exceptions while some crimes might lawfully warrant capital punishment special circumstances can see a criminal get away with a slightly lighter sentence in the u.

s intellectual disability is a pretty important factor up until 2014 it was considered unconstitutional to issue someone with an iq of 70 or under with a capital punishment but when inmate freddie lee hall was found to have an iq score of 71 a mere margin of error the state of florida still slapped him with a death sentence the unfairness was eventually overruled but the strict 70-point cut-off is still currently employed as part of a more rigid framework by states like kentucky and alabama in nigeria there's nothing in the rules about excusing those with intellectual disability but they do draw the line at sentencing pregnant women at least they don't fulfill the sentence while they're pregnant though it can still go ahead after the birth of the child it sounds grim but this rule applies to almost all countries where the death penalty is legal including japan and the us oh mama but in vietnam pregnant women are totally exempt from the charge and instead can be sentenced to life in prison what's more women nursing a child under 3 years old are also exempt along with people over the age of 75. there's also a workaround for officials convicted of corruption who can spare themselves the death penalty if they pay back at least 75 percent of the profits they illicitly obtained that's certainly one way to get people to cough up and in the united arab emirates compensation isn't just an escape route for officials as a country that abides by sharia law a convict on death row may be fully pardoned by the family of the victim usually this involves an agreed form of payment it sounds like a ruling out of the past but as recently as june 2021 beck's creshon an indian businessman on uae's death row promised to pay the family of his victim 500 000 emirati dirham roughly 130 000 to pardon him for his crimes and they say money can't buy you everything the methods it might surprise you but not all modern execution methods are the same from country to country how a prisoner is put to death varies widely depending on where they are and it's not even the same across the u. s the u.