Portugal celebrates today 150 years of abolition of the death penalty with a series of events, including the launching of a stamp commemorating the anniversary and a conference at the Centro Cultural de Belém, with the presence of the Minister of Justice.
Portugal was the first country in the world to begin the process to abolish the death penalty, abolishing it in stages - for political crimes in 1852, for all crimes except the military in 1867, and for all crimes in 1911. The last execution in Portugal took place in Lagos in 1846.The method of capital punishment used in Portugal was by hanging.