Execution by lethal injection at the end of December

• November 1, 2011 17:37

Today (November 1), the regulation on carrying out the death penalty by lethal injection instead of shooting comes into effect. However, Major General Ho Thanh Dinh - Deputy Director General of the General Department of Criminal Judgment Execution and Judicial Support (Ministry of Public Security) - said that it can only be implemented at the end of December.

According to Mr. Dinh, the Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments took effect from July 1, then was postponed until November and now requires guidance documents, preparation of facilities and equipment, so it must continue to be completed before it can be implemented.


Mr. Ho Thanh Dinh

Last week, the General Department of Criminal Judgment Execution and Judicial Support and related units visited five localities: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Son La, Nghe An and Dak Lak. The related agencies agreed to deploy the construction of five execution houses using the lethal injection method in these localities. The design has been approved, funding has been poured into each locality for construction, equipment for lethal injection has also been ordered from abroad, and will be imported to Vietnam in November, and the drugs are available. Training for the execution team will be carried out in parallel with the construction and installation of the execution house and all will be completed synchronously.

According to plan, it will be completed and deployed immediately by the end of December.

* How many death row inmates are currently awaiting execution? Why should the method of execution be changed and will it be costly?

- There are currently more than 360 death row inmates awaiting execution nationwide, many of whom are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nghe An, and Son La - the places where the first execution houses using the lethal injection method were built. The fifth execution house was built in Dak Lak to carry out death sentences in the Central Highlands, avoiding the need to move death row inmates far away.

In addition, the Ministry of National Defense also plans to build three similar execution houses. In the first phase, localities near the five places where these execution houses are located will transport death row inmates to the nearest place for execution, after which construction will be considered in each locality.

The total approved budget for the five enforcement houses is 16 billion VND, of which 1.8 billion VND is reserved for training, consultation, and experience sharing, the rest is invested in construction and equipment purchase.

According to Tuoi Tre