Capital punishment in Papua New Guinea Capital punishment in Papua New Guinea In Papua New Guinea (PNG), also officially known as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, capital punishment (also called the "death penalty" or "execution") is a legal form of punishment. Despite its legality, capital punishment has not been imposed in PNG in over sixty years. The last known execution took place under the colonial administration of Australia. The last execution is understood to have been done by way of hanging and took place in the capital city of PNG, Port Moresby, in November 1954. Within the Pacific Islands Forum, all countries (albeit not
History of Papua New Guinea approve. However, when Germany began settlements in the north a British protectorate was proclaimed in 1884 over the southern coast of New Guinea and its adjacent islands. The protectorate, called British New Guinea, was annexed outright on 4 September 1888. The possession was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1902. Following the passage of the Papua Act in 1905, British New Guinea became the Territory of Papua, and formal Australian administration began in 1906, although Papua remained under their control a British possession until the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975. There was little economic