nifest weight of public opinion" (Zimring and Hawkins, 1986, p. 154).
The only global region where capital punishment has not been formally abolished is the Middle East. Israel retains the death penalty but has not used it in more than two decades. However, in some Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran, thousands of executions take place annually. In countries like Saudi Arabia, public executions are held.
Countries in Latin America and Africa engage in capital punishment as a result of oppressive military regimes. Such executions often take place summarily, without benefit of trial. These types of judicial systems are accompanied by gross human rights violations.
In Asia, the People's Republic of China continues to use the death penalty. It is the only Asian country that retains capital punishment. The offenses for which death is prescribed are wide-ranging: "Capital offenses include provoking dissension, conducting counterrevolutionary propaganda and agitation, and spreading rumors" (Zimring and Hawkins, 1986, p. 7). No official statis
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