Capital punishment in Uruguay

Capital punishment was applied since the time of Spanish colonization in the current territory of Uruguay.

The usual method of execution was by hanging or, for military or political crimes, by firing squad.

[1] In 1764, shortly after the beginning of his term as Governor of Montevideo, Agustín de la Rosa erected a gallows on the site of the present-day Constitution Square to "strengthen the peacefulness of the population and to frighten restless people".

In the first constitution of the nascent Uruguayan state, the death penalty was explicitly mentioned in articles 26 and 84, which regulate the powers of the Chamber of Representatives and the presidential pardon.

[3] The law was unconstitutional at the time of its promulgation, since articles 26 and 84 of the 1830 Constitution, still then in force, explicitly sanctioned the death penalty.

This picture shows the time of execution of criminals Facundo Luna and Carlos Bejarano in the Prison of Miguelete, Montevideo in 1892. The executions were performed in the presence of public in attendance and inmates in the prison yard. On the wall, a quote attributed to Plato can be seen: "The most wretched amongst all men is he who cannot endure misfortune" .