Progress toward abolishing the death penalty was slow starting in 1828 and then increased, especially in the past few decades. This video shows progress on a world map during these past two centuries.
The short video ends by saying that dozens of the nations that still retain the death penalty in their laws have imposed moratoria on actually conducting executions.
Watch this video, which covers a lot in less than 2 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFz48GINnto
If you want more information about the death penalty, I invite you to ether phone or e-mail me.
Also, see the relevant part of my blog: http://parallaxperspectives.org/category/death-penalty