Don't be narrow minded!
Everything has its pros and cons, the same way it is with death penalty:
Current use
PR China · Ecuador · Egypt · India · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Malaysia · Mongolia · North Korea · Pakistan · Russia · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Korea · Taiwan (ROC) · Tonga · United States ·
Past use
Australia · Brazil · Bulgaria · Canada · Denmark · France · Germany · Italy · Mexico · Netherlands · New-Zealand · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Romania · United Kingdom · Turkey · Venezuela

Barbaric??! NO, but media stereotyping