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.

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

Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty, almost 20 years after the southern African nation carried out its last execution.