Malaysia abolishes mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.

Malaysia's parliament has voted to remove the country's mandatory death penalty, potentially sparing more than 1,300 prisoners on death row. The abolition now removes the death penalty as the mandatory sentence for 11 serious crimes, including murder and terrorism. Judges have retained discretion to impose capital punishment in exceptional cases. The courts will now favour life imprisonment sentences of up to 40 years, or corporal punishment such as caning, for the most serious crimes. The new laws will apply retrospectively, allowing those on death row 90 days to seek a review of their sentences.