ISTANBUL

Papua New Guinea has abolished the death penalty because the practice is out of place in a Christian nation, the country’s prime minister announced.

“The Bible says thou shall not kill … and our government has removed, by policy, the clause on the death penalty,” James Marape said at an event in the capital Port Moresby on Tuesday.

He said all death sentences previously awarded will be turned into life terms without parole.

“We are working on giving the maximum penalty to those who commit an offence and are sentenced to death. They will now receive life sentences without the possibility of parole,” he said.

“This is the path we are taking and we are starting to ensure that the country lives by the ideals of Christianity.”

There are currently over 20 people on death row in Papua New Guinea, a country of some 9 million.

The island nation’s Justice Minister Bryan Kramer had earlier said the government was conducting a review to evaluate whether the death penalty “had resulted in the reduction or prevention of serious crimes.”