Saudi Arabia may end execution by beheading as it runs short of swordsmen But the committee appears to have rejected calls from reformists within the kingdom to use US-style lethal injections in prisons. The Saudi government has yet to comment on the reports. The only place in the world that still decapitates criminals, the kingdom is among a handful of countries that stages public executions. In rare cases beheaded corpses are placed on a crucifix for three days as an extra deterrent. Executioners use a traditional scimitar that is three and a half to four feet in length. The condemned man or woman is blindfolded, dressed in white and made to kneel in the direction of Mecca. In a rare interview in 2003, Mohammed Saad al-Beshi, an executioner, said that decapitation required a single swing of his blade. I look after it and sharpen it once in a while, and I make sure to clean it of bloodstains. It's very sharp. People are amazed how fast it can separate the head from the body," he told Arab News. Saudi Arabia's rulers faced vociferous international condemnation in 2011 for beheading Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid who allegedly choked to death a baby in her care. Only 17 at the time, human rights groups said she was denied proper legal representation. Condemned women in Saudi Arabia were killed by firing squad until the 1990s, when the authorities insisted they should be beheaded too. In recent times, Saudi Arabia has executed 70 to 80 people annually, and is among the top five countries to enforce the death penalty, along with China, Iran, North Korea and the United States. It has the widest number of crimes punishable by death, including murder, rape, sodomy, robbery, theft (after four offences), false prophecy and witchcraft. The high level deliberations in Riyadh came too late for Khaled bin Hamad, who was beheaded yesterday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, for stabbing to death another man during a row. He became the 18th person to the executed in the country this year. Under King Abdullah, modest reforms have been introduced. Women have been allowed to vote in future municipal elections, the only public polls held in the kingdom, while in 2009 the first co-educational further education institute opened despite strong clerical opposition.