The High Court has said that Bangladesh is still not in the position to abolish the death penalty but it may consider introducing a guideline on what and how the sentencing system should be applied. About 104 countries have abolished the capital punishment until 2016, while 63 countries retained it, according to Amnesty International. The court on Sunday said that the judiciaries in many countries also discourage death penalty but Bangladesh has not been able to come to that position yet. The death penalty there is usually awarded in extreme cases, such as to the perpetrators of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. In comparison, the High Court said that in Bangladesh the first option for sentencing in a murder case is the death penalty and then life imprisonment, and explain why the death sentence has been commuted.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 22, 2017 19:41 UTC