New zealand death penalty

New Zealand abolished the death penalty in 1961, and it is no longer a legal form of punishment in the country.

Prior to 1961, the death penalty was in place in New Zealand, and it was used to punish a range of crimes, including murder, treason, and piracy. The last person to be executed in New Zealand was Ronald Ryan, who was hanged in 1961 for the murder of a prison officer.

The abolition of the death penalty in New Zealand was a gradual process that began in the 1950s. In 1950, the government established a royal commission to investigate the use of capital punishment, and in 1959, the commission recommended that the death penalty be abolished.

In 1961, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Capital Punishment Abolition Act, which abolished the death penalty for all crimes except treason. The act was passed with the support of both the government and the opposition, and it came into effect on July 7, 1961.

Since then, New Zealand has not executed anyone, and the country has instead focused on rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. The country's criminal justice system is based on the principles of restorative justice, which aims to repair the harm caused by crime and to hold offenders accountable for their actions.

New Zealand's abolition of the death penalty has been widely praised, and the country has been recognized as a leader in the global movement to abolish capital punishment.