Momentum is building for the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia, but the pace may not be fast enough to save Japanese citizen Mariko Takeuchi from the gallows after she was found guilty of drug trafficking last month.
Malaysia is one of 58 countries in the world where the death penalty is still on the books, and for offenses including murder, drug trafficking and treason, the punishment is mandatory death.
This means, as Nora Murat, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, put it, "When a judge has decided on the guilt of the accused, he has only one punishment to give 'death.' "