Why Indonesia’s death penalty lives on, even as executions dwindle

Indonesia, despite not having executed anyone in over a decade, still has a growing death row population. A report by the Indonesian Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence reveals that the number of inmates on death row increased from 596 in August 2025 to 639 in April 2025. The report titled “Capital Punishment Policy Has Changed, Yet the State Has Not Reformed” highlights that the number of criminals facing death sentences more than doubled in 2024 compared to 2019.

The new Criminal Code, passed in 2023 and implemented in January 2024, classifies the death penalty as a "special punishment" to be used as a "last resort." However, legal experts suggest that judges, especially in first instance courts, still interpret the law conservatively. Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia's director, notes that judges maintain a conservative perspective on specific crimes that warrant capital punishment.

The motivations for imposing the death penalty vary, with some judges viewing it as an achievement, which can garner media attention. Judges may also be hesitant to commute death sentences due to uncertainty, as the final decision lies with the president. Moreover, there is a lack of procedures for inmates to apply for sentence commutation, prolonging their suffering.

Indonesia is one of the few Southeast Asian countries with the death penalty, alongside Brunei and Laos, which have not executed a convict in decades, and Singapore, which has carried out 19 executions in the first nine months of 2026 for drug-related offenses. Human rights lawyer Ranto Sibarani points out that Indonesian judges have failed to grasp the spirit behind the abolition of the death penalty, focusing instead on imposing punitive sentences.