Death Penalty Reform in Malaysia

A bill has been approved by Malaysia’s parliament, which would remove mandatory death penalties for a range of serious crimes as part of wide-ranging reforms, bringing possible reprieves to more than 1,300 prisoners on death row.

The courts must mandate hanging as punishment for 11 serious crimes including murder, drug trafficking, treason, kidnapping and acts of terror. As a result of reform, courts will now be given the option between handing down jail sentences of between 30 and 40 years and caning, 

Natural life imprisonment, in which prisoners are kept behind bars till death, will also be replaced with jail terms of 30 to 40 years.

To read more about this important develop, see this article on the Guardian.