Iran still imposes the sentence to death by stoning. In 1999, sentences were issued according to the Islamic law of Hodud and Qesas (religious punishments and retribution) on the account of committing adultery. Article 119 of the Law of Hodoud and Qesas states: "In the punishment of stoning to death, the stones should not be too large so that the person dies on being hit by one or two of them; they should not be so small either that they could not be defined as stones."