Zimbabwe has officially abolished the death penalty after President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed into law an act that will commute to jail time the sentences of about 60 prisoners on death row. There has been a moratorium on executions in the southern African country since 2005 although courts have continued to hand down the death sentence for crimes including murder,

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has approved a law that abolishes the death penalty in the southern African state with immediate effect. Rights group Amnesty hailed the decision as a "beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region", but expressed regret that the death penalty could be reinstated during a state of emergency.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa — who has not signed death warrants for those facing capital sentences since he came to power in 2017 — signed the death penalty abolition bill into law Dec. 31,

Countries that retain the death penalty often argue that the public supports it. In Zimbabwe, research helped challenge this narrative.