Capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

is a legal penalty in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, and is carried out by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

and, to a lesser extent, the

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

. It is only in military codes of justice, and was abolished for civilian offences in October 2017. Five executions had been carried out since 1983; all were broadcast live on television. The last executions took place on June 29, 2000, when kidnappers and murderers Amilcar Cetino Perez and Tomas Cerrate Hernandez were executed by lethal injection on live television. From 2005 to 2012, the sentences of all 54 inmates condemned to death were commuted to life in prison. There are currently no inmates on death row in Guatemala. Guatemala voted in favor of the

UN Moratorium on the Death Penalty At Italy's instigation, the UN moratorium on the death penalty resolution was presented by the EU in partnership with eight co-author member States to the General Assembly of the United Nations, calling for general suspension (not abolition) ...

in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. The country abstained from voting in 2008. In 2017, Guatemala abolished the death penalty for civil crimes. Currently, the death penalty can only be applied in times of war. Guatemala is one of seven countries that has abolished capital punishment for ordinary crimes only. The current

President of Guatemala The president of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de Guatemala), officially known as the President of the Republic of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de la República de Guatemala), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a ...

Alejandro Giammattei Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla (; born 9 March 1956) is a Guatemalan politician who is serving as the president of Guatemala since 2020. He is a former director of the Guatemalan penitentiary system and participated in Guatemala's president ...

, supports the death penalty.

Jimmy Morales Jimmy Morales (born James Ernesto Morales Cabrera, ; 18 March 1969) is a Guatemalan politician, actor and comedian. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the 50th president of Guatemala. Early and personal life Morales was born in Guatemala City ...

, president from 2015 to 2019, also voiced support for the death penalty.

Executions since 1983

External links

Laws of Guatemala

Execution chamber in Guatemala
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The Death Penalty in Guatemala: On the road towards abolition

Archive
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International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

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Guatamala: [sic] First Ever Execution By Lethal Injection Carried Out - 1998
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Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

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Guatemala - Man executed by lethal injection
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Guatemala - Two men executed for rape and murder - 1996
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GUATEMALA: KIDNAPPERS KILLED BY LETHAL INJECTION
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Inter Press Service , News and Views from the Global South

HANDS OFF CAIN against death penalty in the world

References

Law enforcement in Guatemala Murder in Guatemala Human rights abuses in Guatemala {{Human-rights-stub, state=expanded