Capital punishment in Malta
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment
for murder was abolished in Malta
in 1971. It continued to be part of the country's military code until it was fully abolished on 21 March 2000. Malta is a signatory of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
that commits it to abolition of the death penalty within its borders. Malta has also ratified protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights
, that bans the death penalty in all circumstances.
Eighteen executions were carried out between 1876 and 1943. The last executions, on 5 July 1943, were of the brothers Karmnu and Guzeppi Zammit who were hanged for the murder of Spiru Grech. The last person condemned to death was Anthony Patignott, on 1 October 1963, for the killing of Manwel Baldacchino. The Governor General of Malta, Maurice Henry Dorman
, commuted Patignott's sentence to life imprisonment.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for murder was abolished in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in 1971. It continued to be part of the country's military code until it was fully abolished on 21 March 2000. Malta is a signatory of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty is a side agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15 December 1989, and entered into force on 11 July 1991. As of...
that commits it to abolition of the death penalty within its borders. Malta has also ratified protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
, that bans the death penalty in all circumstances.
Eighteen executions were carried out between 1876 and 1943. The last executions, on 5 July 1943, were of the brothers Karmnu and Guzeppi Zammit who were hanged for the murder of Spiru Grech. The last person condemned to death was Anthony Patignott, on 1 October 1963, for the killing of Manwel Baldacchino. The Governor General of Malta, Maurice Henry Dorman
Maurice Henry Dorman
Sir Maurice Henry Dorman, GCMG, GCVO was the representative of the British Monarchy in Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Sierra Leone, and Malta. He studied at Cambridge University. He served in Sierra Leone from 1956 until 1962, for which he was knighted in 1957...
, commuted Patignott's sentence to life imprisonment.