MEXICO. SENATE VOTES TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY

March 18, 2005: the Mexican Senate voted overwhelmingly to explicitly forbid the death penalty, which had not been imposed in the country since 1961.
The vote deleted outdated and little-noticed provisions in the Constitution that allowed capital punishment in theory for certain crimes such as treason, parricide and serious crimes in the military. The Senate voted 79 to 2 to change two constitutional articles to delete the death penalty references and insert new wording that states "death penalties are forbidden," along with whipping, torture and other "excessive" punishments. The change had to be approved by the lower house and local legislatures in two-thirds of Mexico's 31 states. (Sources: El Universal, 18/03/2005)