Guide Note

China holds more executions than any other country in the world, up to 10 times as many as the country in which the Death Penalty is second most commonly applied. A death penalty sentence is given to a wide variety of crimes and the use of the punishment for minor crimes is an often cited concern for human rights advocates. The speed at which executions are carried out has also been a concern. Most cases move from trial to execution in less than a year, some in a matter of months. Executions are carried out via firearms or Lethal Injection and are not restricted to dedicated execution areas. Firing squads are capable of carrying out the procedure from within a secured perimeter at any location and lethal injection equipment is transported in vans to the execution site. In the past, a "bullet fee" was charged to families of those executed but this practice has since been abolished.

Fast Facts

1. According to Amnesty International, China executed between 7,500 and 8,000 people in 2006
2. Official reports state the rate of execution is 0.07 per 100,000 people
3. Lethal Injection was introduced in 1997
4. Execution by firearms is still the most commonly administered method
5. Officials have, in the past, charged the families of the executed a "bullet fee"