The death penalty: The executioner's throng UNTIL they were abolished in 1868, public executions were a common entertainment in Britain. Last year only four countries carried them out: Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and Somalia. In Britain, it took a further century before hanging ceased altogether. Amnesty International's report on the use of the death penalty in 2011 uses publicly available data and therefore substantially undercounts many countries (such as China and Iran). It notes a worldwide trend towards abolition. But much of the world is still enthused by judicial killing, at least in private. On March 29th Japan hanged three convicted multiple murderers, its first executions since 2010.