This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2020. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty.
Amnesty International recorded 483 executions in 18 countries in 2020, a decrease of 26% from 657 recorded in 2019. This figure represents the lowest number of executions that Amnesty International has recorded in the past decade.
There were at least 1,477 people sentenced to death globally in 2020. Amnesty International confirmed at least 22 death sentences in Malaysia, including three for drug trafficking. Amnesty International believes that there were more than 22 death sentences. The authorities of Malaysia continued to observe an official moratorium on executions for the third consecutive year and supported the biennial UN General Assembly resolution calling for a suspension of the use of the death penalty for the second time.
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