Speed Reading — Death Penalty - Level 6 — 500 wpm 

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.

This is the text (if you need help).

The Malaysian government has stated it intends to abolish the death penalty in a move that has been welcomed by human rights campaigners. Malaysia's Law Minister said: "The death penalty will be abolished. Full stop." He added: "Since we are abolishing the sentence, all executions should not be carried out." There are currently over 1,267 people on death row in Malaysia who are set to win a reprieve. The law minister said prisoners on death row would be released or have their sentences commuted. He said: "When commuted, they would have to face life imprisonment because there had been several deaths that were caused by the offender and so they were sentenced to death."

Malaysia's decision was hailed by Amnesty International. Its Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said: "Malaysia must now join the 106 countries who have turned their backs for good on the ultimate cruel, inhumane, degrading punishment. The world is watching." Mr Naidoo added: "There is no time to waste. The death penalty should have been consigned to the history books long ago. Malaysia's new government has promised to deliver on human rights, and today's announcement is an encouraging sign, but much more needs to be done." There are still 23 countries that retain the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, there were 993 executions recorded worldwide in 2017.

Comprehension questions
  1. Who has welcomed the Malaysian government's decision?
  2. Who said the death penalty would be abolished, "full stop".
  3. How many people are on death row in Malaysia?
  4. What are people on death row set to win?
  5. What sentence will the death penalty be reduced to?
  6. Who is Kumi Naidoo?
  7. How many countries have abolished the death penalty?
  8. Who did Mr Naidoo say was watching?
  9. How many countries still have the death penalty?
  10. How many people did Amnesty International say were executed last year?

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