How Death Row Is Different Around The World
5. Vietnam
Vietnam is another nation that doles out death in large quantities under somewhat of a mysterious shroud. The country has averaged over 100 executions per year over the past decade, and yet a great deal of what goes on remains unreported.
The firing squad was retired in favour of lethal injection in 2011, and yet the chemical the state utilises remains unknown. Inspectors of death row facilities are kept largely at bay, but the UN Committee Against Torture reports all manner of unedifying practises, from keeping prisoners perpetually shackled to improperly ventilated cells and inadequate sustenance.
While execution statistics have been released, journalists state that it’s often difficult to ascertain why the sentence was carried out, with death-carrying crimes ranging from rape and murder to the vaguely worded “Attempting to overthrow the people’s administration”.
Vietnam’s capital punishment laws are under review, but it is believed that many crimes are not being reclassified so much as renamed in order for the regime to continue with business as normal. The number of individuals on death row, meanwhile, remains a matter of state secrecy.