Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment whereby an organized group throws stones at the convicted individual until the person dies.
Stoning has been used throughout history in a number of places, both in the form of community justice and also as a judicial form of capital punishment. The practice is referred to in Greek history, as well as Christian, Jewish, and Islamic texts.
Bible and Judaism
Torah
The Torah of the Jews, which is contained in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible and as such serves as a common religious reference, prescribes death by stoning for a long series of offenses, namely:
Touching Mount Sinai while God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:13)
An ox that gores someone to death should be stoned (Exodus 21:28)
Breaking the Shabbat (Numbers 15:32-36)
Giving one’s “seed” (presumably one’s offspring) “to Molech” (Leviticus 20:2-5)
Having a “familiar spirit” (or being a necromancer) or being a “wizard” (Lev. 20:27)
Cursing God (Lev. 24:10-16)
Engaging in idolatry (Deuteronomy 17:2-7) or seducing others to do so (Deut. 13:7-12)
“Rebellion” against parents (Deut. 21,21)
Getting married as though a virgin, when not a virgin (Deut. 22:13-21)
Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman engaged to another man (both should be stoned, Deut. 22:23-24)
Mishna
The Mishna gives the following list of persons who should be stoned (Sanhedrin Chapter 7, p. 53a)
A man who has sexual intercourse with one of the following (see Lev. 20, which however does not specify the form of execution):
his mother
his father’s wife
his daughter-in-law
another man
an animal (“bestiality“)
A woman who allows an animal to have sexual intercourse with her
A blasphemer
An idolater
One who gives his seed to Molech
A necromancer or wizard
One who desecrates the sabbath
One who curses his father and mother
One who has sexual intercourse with a betrothed maiden
One who incites or instigates (toward idolatry)
A sorcerer
A wayward and rebellious son
Usage today
Among the world’s countries with Muslim majorities, very few (the unofficial shari`a court which runs in parallel with judicial court) exercise this form of punishment; when they do, they often face criticism.
Pakistan
Islamic law in Pakistan still allows stoning as a form of punishment, however, no such executions have taken place in the country in recent times.
Afghanistan
As most areas of Afghanistan, aside from the capital, Kabul, are controlled locally by warlords or tribal leaders, the Afghan legal system depends highly on an individual community’s local culture and the political and/or religious ideology of its leaders. Stoning also occurs in lawless areas, where vigilantes decide to commit the act for religious and/or political purposes.
Iran
In Iran, stoning as a punishment did not exist until 1983, when the contemporary Islamic Penal Code was ratified. Many Muslim jurists in Iran are of the opinion that while stoning can be considered Islamic, the conditions under which it can be sentenced are nearly impossible to occur. Because of the large burden of proof needed to reach a guilty sentence of adultery, its penalty is hardly ever applicable. Furthermore, while legally on the books, because of the enormity of both domestic and international controversy and outcry over stoning in the early years of the Islamic republic, the government placed official moratoriums on the punishment and, as a result, it was rarely practiced. Nevertheless, much of the public was outraged that such a backward and tortuous ritual became instituted in the laws of their country. In 2002 Iran’s judiciary indicated that stoning will no longer be practiced in Iran. However, it continued. In 2008, Iran’s judiciary once again said it planned to stop stoning as a form of punishment; however, it will still be a legal form of punishment.
In August 2008 the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women! announced that there were still at least eight women and one man sentenced to die by stoning for convictions of prostitution, incest and adultery. Two were granted amnesty, two received reduced sentences of imprisonment and/or lashes and five cases are under review. The spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, Alireza Jamshidi, said in a statement, “Don’t forget. One cannot remove the punishment of stoning from the law.” The case of Kobra Najjar, a 44 year old woman who was convicted of adultery, but who some say was forced into prostitution by her husband, has received international attention. She has reportedly exhausted all legal recourse for her conviction, with a sentence of death by stoning.
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates
Sentences to stoning or stonings without a sentence were also reported within the last years from Sudan, Saudi-Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Somalia
In October, 2008, a girl, Aisho Ibrahim Dhuhulow was buried up to her neck at a football stadium, then stoned to death in front of more than 1,000 people. The stoning occurred after she had allegedly pleaded guilty to adultery in a shari`ah court in Kismayo, a city controlled by Islamist insurgents. According to the insurgents she had stated that she wanted shari`ah law to apply. However, other sources state that the victim had been crying, that she begged for mercy and had to be forced into the hole before being buried up to her neck in the ground. Amnesty International later learned that the girl was in fact 13 years old (i.e. a child) and had been arrested by the al-Shabab militia after she had reported being gang-raped by three men.
Nigeria
Stoning is available as a punishment under Sharia in Nigeria. The most famous case is that of Amina Lawal, who was sentenced to death for having sex out-of-wedlock, as she is not married and found herself pregnant.
The death sentences through stoning of the years 2000 and 2001 in Northern Nigeria sparked international discussion on Shari`a’s imposition of stoning. Between 2000 and 2001 twelve northern Nigerian states officially declared Shari`a to be their criminal code again, even though many of its regulations conflict with the Nigerian constitution. The introduction of Shari`a law directly and indirectly led to many violent riots.
