The debates surrounding the imposition of the extreme penalty of capital punishment are perennial in scale and global in perspective. This article investigates the status quo in Saudi Arabia and measures it against the obligations that Saudi Arabia owes to the international community in three dimensions, namely: the desirability of the death penalty, the need to ensure the highest possible fair trial standards, and the observance of special restrictions on the application of the death penalty. The justifications forwarded on the basis of cultural relativism would be taken into account. It would be concluded that such justifications are fallacious and that religion should not be used as a pretext to shield Saudi Arabia from the proper discharge of its international obligations.