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Pope Leo Is Right: Abolish the Death Penalty

The planned execution of the Fort Hood shooter tests our pro-life convictions: a person’s guilt does not erase the right to live.

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Pope Leo XIV seated during an audience with the media at the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV at an audience with the media, May 12, 2025. Photo: Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
OCTOBER 10, 2026

What Pope Leo said

Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to the death penalty in an October 10, 2026, post on X. Marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, he said society can protect its citizens and uphold justice while preserving the possibility of redemption for those convicted of serious crimes.

Leo’s message came ahead of the planned execution of Nidal Hasan for the 2009 Fort Hood attack. Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The Army has scheduled his execution by firing squad for December 3, 2026, although further legal proceedings could delay it.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans on October 8 to livestream the execution. Reuters reported on October 10 that President Trump had not decided whether to allow the broadcast.

Leo did not name Hasan in his message. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, criticized the proposal to broadcast the execution, calling it unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle.

Death-penalty status around the world

199 countries · Amnesty International’s classifications as of December 31, 2025

Explore the countriesTap a country or dot, search by name, or select a category above.
World map of death-penalty status at the end of 2025Four colors show the categories in the key. Small countries are shown as dots. Use the country search or full lists below for every country’s name and status.Falkland Islands: not separately classified in this listGreenland: not separately classified in this listFrench Southern and Antarctic Lands: not separately classified in this listPuerto Rico: not separately classified in this listNew Caledonia: not separately classified in this listNorthern Cyprus: not separately classified in this listSomaliland: not separately classified in this listAlbania: Abolished for every crimeAngola: Abolished for every crimeArgentina: Abolished for every crimeArmenia: Abolished for every crimeAustralia: Abolished for every crimeAustria: Abolished for every crimeAzerbaijan: Abolished for every crimeBelgium: Abolished for every crimeBenin: Abolished for every crimeBhutan: Abolished for every crimeBolivia: Abolished for every crimeBosnia and Herzegovina: Abolished for every crimeBulgaria: Abolished for every crimeBurundi: Abolished for every crimeCambodia: Abolished for every crimeCanada: Abolished for every crimeChad: Abolished for every crimeCentral African Republic: Abolished for every crimeColombia: Abolished for every crimeCongo: Abolished for every crimeCosta Rica: Abolished for every crimeCôte d’Ivoire: Abolished for every crimeCroatia: Abolished for every crimeCyprus: Abolished for every crimeCzech Republic: Abolished for every crimeDenmark: Abolished for every crimeDjibouti: Abolished for every crimeDominican Republic: Abolished for every crimeEcuador: Abolished for every crimeEstonia: Abolished for every crimeFiji: Abolished for every crimeFinland: Abolished for every crimeFrance: Abolished for every crimeGabon: Abolished for every crimeGeorgia: Abolished for every crimeGermany: Abolished for every crimeGreece: Abolished for every crimeGuinea: Abolished for every crimeGuinea-Bissau: Abolished for every crimeHaiti: Abolished for every crimeHonduras: Abolished for every crimeHungary: Abolished for every crimeIceland: Abolished for every crimeIreland: Abolished for every crimeItaly: Abolished for every crimeKazakhstan: Abolished for every crimeKosovo: Abolished for every crimeKyrgyzstan: Abolished for every crimeLatvia: Abolished for every crimeLithuania: Abolished for every crimeLuxembourg: Abolished for every crimeMadagascar: Abolished for every crimeMexico: Abolished for every crimeMoldova: Abolished for every crimeMongolia: Abolished for every crimeMontenegro: Abolished for every crimeMozambique: Abolished for every crimeNamibia: Abolished for every crimeNepal: Abolished for every crimeNetherlands: Abolished for every crimeNew Zealand: Abolished for every crimeNicaragua: Abolished for every crimeNorth Macedonia: Abolished for every crimeNorway: Abolished for every crimePanama: Abolished for every crimePapua New Guinea: Abolished for every crimeParaguay: Abolished for every crimePhilippines: Abolished for every crimePoland: Abolished for every crimePortugal: Abolished for every crimeRomania: Abolished for every crimeRwanda: Abolished for every crimeSenegal: Abolished for every crimeSerbia: Abolished for every crimeSierra Leone: Abolished for every crimeSlovakia: Abolished for every crimeSlovenia: Abolished for every crimeSolomon Islands: Abolished for every crimeSouth Africa: Abolished for every crimeSpain: Abolished for every crimeSuriname: Abolished for every crimeSweden: Abolished for every crimeSwitzerland: Abolished for every crimeTimor-Leste: Abolished for every crimeTogo: Abolished for every crimeTürkiye: Abolished for every crimeTurkmenistan: Abolished for every crimeUkraine: Abolished for every crimeUnited Kingdom: Abolished for every crimeUruguay: Abolished for every crimeUzbekistan: Abolished for every crimeVanuatu: Abolished for every crimeVenezuela: Abolished for every crimeZambia: Abolished for every crimeBrazil: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyBurkina Faso: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyChile: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyEl Salvador: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyEquatorial Guinea: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyGuatemala: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyIsrael: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyPeru: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyZimbabwe: Abolished for ordinary crimes onlyAlgeria: Abolitionist in practiceBrunei Darussalam: Abolitionist in practiceCameroon: Abolitionist in practiceEritrea: Abolitionist in practiceEswatini: Abolitionist in practiceGhana: Abolitionist in practiceKenya: Abolitionist in practiceLaos: Abolitionist in practiceLiberia: Abolitionist in practiceMalawi: Abolitionist in practiceMali: Abolitionist in practiceMauritania: Abolitionist in practiceMorocco/Western Sahara: Abolitionist in practiceNiger: Abolitionist in practiceRussia: Abolitionist in practiceSouth Korea: Abolitionist in practiceSri Lanka: Abolitionist in practiceTajikistan: Abolitionist in practiceTanzania: Abolitionist in practiceTunisia: Abolitionist in practiceAfghanistan: Retain the death penaltyBahamas: Retain the death penaltyBangladesh: Retain the death penaltyBelarus: Retain the death penaltyBelize: Retain the death penaltyBotswana: Retain the death penaltyChina: Retain the death penaltyCuba: Retain the death penaltyDemocratic Republic of the Congo: Retain the death penaltyEgypt: Retain the death penaltyEthiopia: Retain the death penaltyGambia: Retain the death penaltyGuyana: Retain the death penaltyIndia: Retain the death penaltyIndonesia: Retain the death penaltyIran: Retain the death penaltyIraq: Retain the death penaltyJamaica: Retain the death penaltyJapan: Retain the death penaltyJordan: Retain the death penaltyKuwait: Retain the death penaltyLebanon: Retain the death penaltyLesotho: Retain the death penaltyLibya: Retain the death penaltyMalaysia: Retain the death penaltyMyanmar: Retain the death penaltyNigeria: Retain the death penaltyNorth Korea: Retain the death penaltyOman: Retain the death penaltyPakistan: Retain the death penaltyPalestine (State of): Retain the death penaltyQatar: Retain the death penaltySaudi Arabia: Retain the death penaltySomalia: Retain the death penaltySouth Sudan: Retain the death penaltySudan: Retain the death penaltySyria: Retain the death penaltyTaiwan: Retain the death penaltyThailand: Retain the death penaltyTrinidad and Tobago: Retain the death penaltyUganda: Retain the death penaltyUnited Arab Emirates: Retain the death penaltyUnited States of America: Retain the death penaltyViet Nam: Retain the death penaltyYemen: Retain the death penaltyAndorra: Abolished for every crimeCabo Verde: Abolished for every crimeCook Islands: Abolished for every crimeKiribati: Abolished for every crimeLiechtenstein: Abolished for every crimeMalta: Abolished for every crimeMarshall Islands: Abolished for every crimeMauritius: Abolished for every crimeMicronesia: Abolished for every crimeMonaco: Abolished for every crimeNauru: Abolished for every crimeNiue: Abolished for every crimePalau: Abolished for every crimeSamoa: Abolished for every crimeSan Marino: Abolished for every crimeSao Tome and Principe: Abolished for every crimeSeychelles: Abolished for every crimeTuvalu: Abolished for every crimeVatican City: Abolished for every crimeGrenada: Abolitionist in practiceMaldives: Abolitionist in practiceTonga: Abolitionist in practiceAntigua and Barbuda: Retain the death penaltyBahrain: Retain the death penaltyBarbados: Retain the death penaltyComoros: Retain the death penaltyDominica: Retain the death penaltySaint Kitts and Nevis: Retain the death penaltySaint Lucia: Retain the death penaltySaint Vincent and the Grenadines: Retain the death penaltySingapore: Retain the death penalty

Showing all four categories.

Gray areas are not separately classified in Amnesty’s list. Dots mark countries too small to show at this scale. Browse countries by name ↓

Source: Amnesty International, Annex II, pages 39–40. Geography: Natural Earth. Boundaries and country groupings follow these sources.

Browse countries by name 199 countries

Open a group to see every country. These are Amnesty International’s classifications as of December 31, 2025.

Abolished for every crime — 113 countries

The death penalty has been removed from the law for all crimes.

  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Angola
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belgium
  • Benin
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Burundi
  • Cabo Verde
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Colombia
  • Congo
  • Cook Islands
  • Costa Rica
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Djibouti
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Estonia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France
  • Gabon
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kiribati
  • Kosovo
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Madagascar
  • Malta
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Micronesia
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nauru
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Niue
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Palau
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Rwanda
  • Samoa
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Timor-Leste
  • Togo
  • Türkiye
  • Turkmenistan
  • Tuvalu
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Vatican City
  • Venezuela
  • Zambia
Abolished for ordinary crimes only — 9 countries

The death penalty remains only for exceptional crimes, such as offences under military law or crimes committed in wartime.

  • Brazil
  • Burkina Faso
  • Chile
  • El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Guatemala
  • Israel
  • Peru
  • Zimbabwe
Abolitionist in practice — 23 countries

The death penalty remains in law, but Amnesty records no executions for at least 10 years and considers there to be a policy or established practice against executions.

  • Algeria
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cameroon
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Kenya
  • Laos
  • Liberia
  • Malawi
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Morocco/Western Sahara
  • Niger
  • Russia
  • South Korea
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania
  • Tonga
  • Tunisia
Retain the death penalty — 54 countries

The death penalty remains for ordinary crimes. Inclusion does not mean the country carried out an execution in 2025.

  • Afghanistan
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Bahamas
  • Bahrain
  • Bangladesh
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belize
  • Botswana
  • China
  • Comoros
  • Cuba
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Dominica
  • Egypt
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Guyana
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Libya
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Nigeria
  • North Korea
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Palestine (State of)
  • Qatar
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Singapore
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United States of America
  • Viet Nam
  • Yemen

Source: Amnesty International, Annex II, pages 39–40. Country names and groupings follow the report.

PEW · JULY 2026For people convicted of murder

Favor the death penalty66%

Oppose the death penalty32%

Percent of U.S. adults. No-answer responses are not shown.

The global figures describe law and practice. Pew measures U.S. public opinion, where a majority favors execution for murder. Those figures do not settle whether execution is right.

THE GLOBAL PICTURE

Most countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice

By the end of 2025, Amnesty International counted 145 countries that had abolished the death penalty in law or practice. That includes the 113 that had removed it from their laws for every crime.

Amnesty recorded at least 2,707 executions in 2025. Its tally excludes the thousands believed to have taken place in China and unavailable totals from North Korea and Viet Nam. The organization opposes capital punishment; its figures are a documented minimum, not a complete worldwide count.

THE AMERICANA GECKO TAKE

Why We Stand With Pope Leo

We support Pope Leo’s call to end the death penalty. We oppose execution and defend unborn life because we believe every person has a right to live.

We believe a child conceived through rape has a right to live. The child bears no responsibility for the assault. The circumstances of conception cannot diminish that child’s worth.

That commitment also means supporting the woman who was raped. She deserves safety, medical care, counseling and practical support throughout pregnancy and afterward.

A convicted murderer presents a different case. The child is innocent. The murderer is responsible for taking another person’s life and must face punishment. We are arguing that both have a right to live, not that both are innocent.

We believe guilt can justify imprisonment without taking away a person’s right to live. Secure imprisonment can punish an offender and protect the public while leaving time for repentance.

Jesus’ words give that position a foundation. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” he teaches in Matthew 5:7. In Matthew 5:44, he tells his followers to “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Mercy becomes demanding when the person receiving it has caused terrible harm.

In John 8:1–11, the scribes and Pharisees bring Jesus a woman caught in adultery and ask whether she should be stoned. Jesus tells the one among them without sin to cast the first stone. After her accusers leave, he tells her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (King James Version). We read his reply as both mercy and a call to stop sinning.

In Luke 23:39–43, a condemned criminal admits his guilt and asks Jesus to remember him. Jesus promises him paradise. The passage concerns salvation rather than a modern sentencing policy, but it shows that guilt has not placed this man beyond redemption.

Those killed at Fort Hood deserve lasting remembrance. Survivors and their families deserve lasting care. Opposing Hasan’s execution asks none of them to forgive him. We ask the government to punish Hasan through imprisonment rather than execution.

We oppose making an execution a public spectacle. Our opposition to the execution itself would remain if the cameras were removed.

We believe a murderer must answer for his crime without losing his right to live. That is why we stand with Pope Leo.

Sources and verification

Checked: October 12, 2026.

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