Commutations of sentence and acts of clemency
Archive theme
A death sentence can be turned into a prison sentence by an act of clemency: commutation, pardon, amnesty, remission. These rest with heads of state, courts and clemency boards, and not infrequently arrive within hours of an execution.
For the association they are a concrete front: every commutation is a life, and the countries that grant many of them are often the ones closest to a moratorium in fact. This page collects the news on commutations, pardons and acts of clemency.
Latest news
- JANUARY 1, 2007MoldovaDEATH PENALTY
Moldova abolished the death penalty for all crimes in December 1995...
Moldova abolished the death penalty for all crimes in December 1995 but the Constitution retains it for crimes committed during war or with an inevitable threat of war.
- JANUARY 1, 2007BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Article 24 of the constitution reads that
Article 24 of the constitution reads that "the death penalty...
- JANUARY 1, 2007ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
The Zambia Constitution of 1991, allows the death penalty in Part III
The Zambia Constitution of 1991, allows the death penalty in Part III
- JANUARY 1, 2007GhanaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty has been in Ghana’s statute books...
The death penalty has been in Ghana’s statute books since the inception of English common law in the country in 1874.
- DECEMBER 15, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER
India’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction of CPM activist...
- DECEMBER 13, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER
the Supreme Court of India converted to life imprisonment the death sentence handed down to Aloke Nath of Kolkata for the murder of his younger brother.
- DECEMBER 1, 2006South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
SOUTH AFRICA. SENTENCE COMMUTED FOR LAST DEATH ROW INMATE
South Africa's last death row inmate has had his sentence finally commuted to a jail term 11 years after capital punishment was declared unconstitutional, the country's highest court announced.
- NOVEMBER 26, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
India’s Supreme Court converted the death sentence of a convict from Punjab to life imprisonment due to insufficient evidence. Vikarmjit Singh had been sentenced to death by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for murdering his newly wed wife Meena Rani.
- NOVEMBER 25, 2006ThailandDEATH PENALTY
THAILAND. MEN WHO RAPED, KILLED TOURIST ESCAPE DEATH
Bualoy Kothisit, 23, and Wichai Sonkhaoyai, 24, two Thai fishermen convicted of raping and murdering a 21-year-old British tourist on New Year's Day 2006, had their death sentences commuted to life
- NOVEMBER 16, 2006United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE FOR BRITON: OFFICIAL
President Pervez Musharraf has commuted the death sentence for a British man who has been in jail in Pakistan for the past 18 years for a murder he says he didn't commit, Pakistan's interior minister said.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2006KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT. APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES OF 4 MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS IN TERROR CASE
an appeals court in Kuwait city upheld four death sentences and commuted two others to life in prison in a terror case against a group of Muslim fundamentalists convicted of plotting attacks on US troops in Kuwait.
- NOVEMBER 11, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE INTO LIFE TERM
India’s Supreme Court reduced to life imprisonment the death penalty awarded to Amrit Singh, a Punjab man found guilty of the rape and murder of a minor girl, saying it could have been a result of a momentary lapse on the part of the convict.
- NOVEMBER 7, 2006IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. NOBELLIST APPEALS TO IRAQI GOVERNMENT NOT TO CARRY OUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR SADDAM HUSSEIN
Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, has appealed to the Iraqi Government not to carry out the death sentences passed on former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, as well as his former Vice President, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and former Intell
- OCTOBER 19, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA DELAYS EXECUTION OF CONVICTED KASHMIRI
the execution of Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri man sentenced to death for his role in the 2001 Indian parliament attack, had been delayed until the president answered his call for clemency, officials said.
- OCTOBER 12, 2006VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. PRESIDENT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY FOR MAN CONVICTED OF EMBEZZLEMENT
Vietnam's president commuted a death sentence on the former head of a state-run company found guilty of massive embezzlement, officials said.
- OCTOBER 11, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SUPREME COURT CLIPS PRESIDENT’S POWERS OF PARDON
India’s Supreme Court clipped the president’s power to pardon convicts on death row.
- OCTOBER 1, 2006NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA GRANTS REPRIEVE TO MORE THAN 100 DEATH ROW PRISONERS
more than 100 Nigerians condemned to death had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment as part of independence day celebrations in the West African country.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2006IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. UN ENVOY URGES GOVERNMENT TO COMMUTE SENTENCES OF PEOPLE ON DEATH ROW
the United Nations urged Iraq to commute all sentences of capital punishment after the northern Kurdistan region executed 10 people earlier in the week.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2006SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
SOMALIA. THOUSANDS WATCH PUBLIC EXECUTION IN MOGADISHU
over 6,000 people watched the public execution of a convicted murderer in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the first execution since the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) seized power from an alliance of warlords on June 5.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2006EthiopiaDEATH PENALTY
ETHIOPIA PARDONS DETAINEES IN 'NEW YEAR' FETE
Ethiopia granted amnesties to hundreds of prison inmates in the first such move in five decades that also saw death row convicts have their sentences commuted, officials said.
- SEPTEMBER 2, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. HIGH COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCES HANDED DOWN TO MONKS FOR MURDER
the Gujarat High Court, India, commuted the death sentences handed down to four swami’s into life imprisonment and acquitted a fifth defendant in the case.
- AUGUST 11, 2006Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA DELAYS CHRISTIAN MILITANT EXECUTIONS
Indonesia delayed until after August 17 the execution of three Christian militants convicted of killing Muslims, national police chief Sutanto told reporters. Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Silva were to face a firing squad just after midnight
- AUGUST 5, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. NO MERCY, BOMB BLAST GUILTY MUST BE HANGED, HIGH COURT
the Delhi High Court, India, showed no mercy to Mohammad Hussain, a man who allegedly planted a bomb in a bus in 1997 during the serial blasts which shocked the Capital.
- JULY 17, 2006BulgariaDEATH PENALTY
LIBYA. QADDAFI COULD GRANT BULGARIAN NURSES AMNESTY
Libyan court will confirm the death sentences of Bulgaria's five nurses, a newspaper has said citing anonymous sources.
- JULY 13, 2006NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE. AMNESTY ASKS SINGAPORE NOT TO HANG TWO AFRICAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS
Amnesty International said it had written to Singapore President S.R. Nathan asking him to intervene to stop a Nigerian and a South African convicted of drug trafficking from being hanged.
- JUNE 27, 2006JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. DEATH SENTENCE FOR HOMELESS MAN COMMUTED TO LIFE
the Tokyo High Court commuted the death penalty of Yoshio Ando to life in prison for the 1999 murders of three homeless men in Tokyo, citing his ''diminished'' mental capacity at the time of the crime due to the influence of amphetamines.
- JUNE 20, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. COURT COMMUTES DEATH BY STONING SENTENCE
a United Arab Emirates appeal court commuted to imprisonment a sentence of death by stoning handed down by a lower court against a Bangladeshi convicted of adultery. The court ordered Shaheen Abdel Rahman jailed for a year and then deported to his home co
- JUNE 19, 2006CubaDEATH PENALTY
CUBA. DISSIDENTS ASK FOR AMNESTY FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS, MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS
dissident groups in Cuba asked Havana to grant a general amnesty to political prisoners and to introduce a legal moratorium on capital executions.
- JUNE 12, 2006AzerbaijanDEATH PENALTY
AZERBAIJAN. PRISONERS ON DEATH ON HUNGER STRIKE
109 prisoners whose verdict was replaced by life imprisonment after abolishment of capital punishment launched hunger strike.
- MAY 20, 2006YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN. DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED
the death penalty handed down in Yemen to cleric Yahia Hussein al-Dailamiwas commuted into a term of imprisonment by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.