China
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In January, the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court...
- News items in the archive
- 2,785
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
China is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 2,785 news items on China, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- OCTOBER 27, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA MULLS SCRAPPING DEATH PENALTY FOR 9 CRIMES
Chinese lawmakers are considering removing the death penalty as punishment for nine crimes, including
- OCTOBER 20, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
ACTIVISTS: CHINA EXECUTED 2,400 PEOPLE IN 2013
A U.S.-based rights group says the number of executions carried out in China likely decreased by 20 percent in 2013.
OCTOBER 13, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: 12 SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER DEADLY XINJIANG ATTACK
A Chinese court sentenced 12 people to death in connection with a July attack in violence-racked Xinjiang.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MOSQUE ATTACK
A court in China's far west sentenced to death two teenagers for the killing of the head of the country's
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE ATTACKERS WHO KILLED 31 GET DEATH SENTENCE
Three people have been condemned to death and one given life in prison for a mass stabbing that killed 31
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: COURT CHANGES DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN RAPE CASE
A higher court in central China's Hunan Province overturned a death sentence for 2 men convicted of raping
- AUGUST 24, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: EIGHT “TERRORISTS” EXECUTED IN XINJIANG
- AUGUST 22, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: HIGH COURT FREES MAN AFTER SIX YEARS ON DEATH ROW
- AUGUST 21, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: GERMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER IN XIAMEN
a German was sentenced to death in China for the first time in modern history. The 36-year-old man was convicted of a double murder in Xiamen in 2010. Germany has vowed to stop the execution.
- AUGUST 20, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: RAILWAY OFFICIAL GETS DEATH SENTENCE ON CORRUPTION CHARGES
- AUGUST 9, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
about 20 South Korean nationals are death row inmates in China, according to the Ministry of Foreign
about 20 South Korean nationals are death row inmates in China, according to the Ministry of Foreign
- AUGUST 7, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: ANOTHER SOUTH KOREAN EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
- AUGUST 6, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: 2 KOREAN SMUGGLERS EXECUTED
China executed two South Korean men in Jilin Province for drug trafficking and trading convictions, the first
JULY 25, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: JAPANESE MAN EXECUTED OVER STIMULANT DRUG SMUGGLING
Chinese authorities executed a Japanese man in his 50s who had been sentenced to death in connection with
JULY 23, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: COP WHO SHOT DEAD PREGNANT WOMAN EXECUTED
A policeman who shot dead a pregnant woman while drunk and injured her husband was executed for the
- JULY 11, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA COMMUTES BUSINESSWOMAN'S SENTENCE TO LIFE
China commuted the fraud sentence of businesswoman Wu Ying -- once listed among its richest women but
JULY 1, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: TWO UGANDANS EXECUTED OVER DRUG TRAFFICKING
Ugandan Foreign Ministry spokesman Fred Opolot said two Ugandan drug traffickers – Omar Ddamulira
- JUNE 17, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: SEVEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
A court in east China's Shandong Province sentenced seven people in three cases to death for drug
JUNE 16, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: 13 PEOPLE EXECUTED FOR ‘TERRORIST’ ATTACKS IN XINJIANG
China executed 13 people for "terrorist attacks" in the far western region of Xinjiang, state media said.
JUNE 16, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE SUICIDE ATTACK
Three people were sentenced to death for their roles in carrying out a deadly attack on Tiananmen Square
JUNE 12, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: SUPREME COURT REJECTS DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPE
China's supreme court annulled the death penalty for two men convicted of the rape of the daughter of a
- JUNE 5, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TERRORISM IN XINJIANG
Authorities in China's restive Xinjiang region sentenced nine people to death for "violent terrorism" crimes,
- MAY 27, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: 55 PEOPLE SENTENCED AT MASS TRIAL IN XINJIANG, INCLUDING THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH
Chinese authorities used a public rally in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to sentence 55 people on charges including terrorism.
MAY 16, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CROSS-BORDER CHILD-TRAFFICKING
A man from southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been sentenced to death for child
- APRIL 9, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: COURT REJECTS DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL OF POLICEMAN WHO SHOT PREGNANT WOMAN DEAD, INJURED HUSBAND
A court rejected the appeal of a former policeman who was given a death sentence for shooting a pregnant
- APRIL 5, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court in northern China sentenced to death two men, a Chinese
the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court in northern China sentenced to death two men, a Chinese
- MARCH 27, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CINA: FOREIGN MINISTRY DEFENDS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
China defended the death penalty as a traditional deterrent, after Amnesty International released its annual
- MARCH 9, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA MULLS TRIMMING DEATH PENALTY CRIMES
speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) session, Zang
- FEBRUARY 28, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTY
former Guangdong Party bigwig Zhou Zhenhong was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve for taking
former Guangdong Party bigwig Zhou Zhenhong was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve for taking
FEBRUARY 17, 2014ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: POLICEMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A policeman was sentenced to death for killing a pregnant woman and injuring her husband at a restaurant in