Fewer executions

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

China reformed its death penalty law this week, requiring the country’s highest court to approve every death sentence. China executes at least 1,500 people a year, far more than any other country; the new policy is expected to reduce that number considerably. Many of China’s death sentences—for crimes ranging from murder to tax evasion—are handed down by corrupt local courts. In recent months, state-owned media outlets have been running exposés about innocent people wrongfully executed, and activists have been calling for reform.