Papua New Guinea reinstates death penalty

Papua New Guinea has reinstated the death penalty and repealed controversial sorcery laws after a string of gruesome “witch” killings and gang-rapes, with capital punishment to be used for some corruption cases and possibly even growing marijuana.

PNG is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, with rampant graft a major hindrance to the South Pacific nation’s ability to develop vast reserves of natural resources.

The PNG parliament voted on Tuesday to extend death penalty laws, unused since 1954, to make murder, rape and robbery punishable by measures ranging from hanging to a firing squad, as well as “medical death by deprivation of oxygen”.

The vote followed a spate of violent sorcery-related crimes, including murders and beheadings that have drawn condemnation from the United Nations.

In February, a 20-year-old mother was accused of witchcraft, then stripped and burned alive in a crowded market.

{Agencies}