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
- MAY 7, 2004ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa commuted the death...
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa commuted the death sentences of 15 prisoners who were convicted for murder and aggravated robbery
- MAY 6, 2004MexicoDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International sent letters to the Oklahoma...
Amnesty International sent letters to the Oklahoma Attorney General, Drew Edmonson and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board urging them to demonstrate their respect for justice and human life by recommending clemency for Osvaldo Torres to Governor Henry a
- APRIL 16, 2004European UnionDEATH PENALTY
Former Governor of Illinois and Hands Off Cain Honorary...
Former Governor of Illinois and Hands Off Cain Honorary President Georage Ryan made an urgent appeal for an international moratorium on capital executions at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva
- APRIL 15, 2004North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Gov. Mike Easley pardoned Darryl Eugene Hunt, who was...
Gov. Mike Easley pardoned Darryl Eugene Hunt, who was cleared on February 6 (see) of a 1984 murder on the strength of DNA evidence that implicated someone else. The "pardon of innocence" closes the criminal case
- APRIL 13, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The wives of four bandits due to be hanged in Bangalore,...
The wives of four bandits due to be hanged in Bangalore, southern India, on April 16, were pinning their hopes on a last-minute presidential pardon, the women told AFP
- APRIL 9, 2004MalawiDEATH PENALTY
President of Malawi Bakili Muluzi commuted the death...
President of Malawi Bakili Muluzi commuted the death sentences of 79 prisoners and freed 320 others in a gesture to coincide with Easter, marking another step by Malawi's leader to improve human rights
- APRIL 8, 2004DEATH PENALTY
ITALY: EX ILLINOIS GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR PANNELLA’S NON VIOLENT ACTION
April 8, 2004: The following is a letter sent by ex-Illinois Governor George Ryan, currently Hands Off Cain’s Honorary President, to The Radical Party.
- APRIL 6, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The People's Legal Forum (PLF) submitted a petition...
The People's Legal Forum (PLF) submitted a petition to the President of India, A
- MARCH 27, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Madras High Court, India, commuted the death sentence...
The Madras High Court, India, commuted the death sentence of 32 year old Marimuthu into life imprisonment
- MARCH 20, 2004AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Nguyen Tuong Van, 23, a sales executive from Melbourne,...
Nguyen Tuong Van, 23, a sales executive from Melbourne, Australia, was sentenced to death after the Singapore High Court found him guilty of smuggling almost 400 grams of heroin
- MARCH 20, 2004SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
Nguyen Tuong Van, 23, a sales executive from Melbourne,...
Nguyen Tuong Van, 23, a sales executive from Melbourne, Australia, was sentenced to death after the Singapore High Court found him guilty of smuggling almost 400 grams of heroin
- MARCH 10, 2004KenyaDEATH PENALTY
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki commuted into life imprisonment...
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki commuted into life imprisonment all death sentences in the country
- MARCH 1, 2004IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
Since the enforcement of the 1997 narcotics and psychotropic...
Since the enforcement of the 1997 narcotics and psychotropic substances law, the Tangerang District Court, Indonesia handed down death sentences against 23 people, six women, five Indonesians and the rest foreigners, who were arrested at the Soekarno Hatt
- FEBRUARY 29, 2004ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka Medardo Mazombwe and...
Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka Medardo Mazombwe and Zambia Episcope Conference (ZEC) general secretary Fr
- FEBRUARY 27, 2004ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa quashed the death...
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa quashed the death sentences imposed on 44 soldiers convicted of treason in 1999
- FEBRUARY 19, 2004UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
A military court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced to death Asadullo...
A military court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced to death Asadullo Abdullayev, 24, and Ilkhom Izatullayev, 25, two Islamic militants of Uzbek nationality, after finding them guilty of plotting an explosion on December 2002 at a market in Bishkek which killed seve
- FEBRUARY 19, 2004KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
A military court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced to death Asadullo...
A military court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced to death Asadullo Abdullayev, 24, and Ilkhom Izatullayev, 25, two Islamic militants of Uzbek nationality, after finding them guilty of plotting an explosion on December 2002 at a market in Bishkek which killed seve
- FEBRUARY 3, 2004AustriaDEATH PENALTY
Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner said...
Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she was "disappointed" by her compatriot Arnold Schwarzenegger because he refused to spare the life of death row inmate Kevin Cooper
- FEBRUARY 2, 2004Council of EuropeDEATH PENALTY
In a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Council...
In a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder appealed for clemency in the case of death row inmate Kevin Cooper: "Since you took office as Governor, you have shown mercy and humanity in
- JANUARY 22, 2004ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
Zambia army officers and men at Gondar barracks near...
Zambia army officers and men at Gondar barracks near Chipata, a town 569km east of Lusaka, submitted to the Constitutional Review Commission to abolish the death penalty in the laws of Zambia and replace it with life imprisonment
- JANUARY 22, 2004IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that former Gov
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that former Gov
- JANUARY 16, 2004EgyptDEATH PENALTY
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that...
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that six prisoners on death row had their sentences reduced to life in prison with hard labour
- JANUARY 16, 2004LebanonDEATH PENALTY
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that...
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that six prisoners on death row had their sentences reduced to life in prison with hard labour
- JANUARY 16, 2004SyriaDEATH PENALTY
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that...
The Lebanese government announced in a statement that six prisoners on death row had their sentences reduced to life in prison with hard labour
- JANUARY 1, 2004ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is applied to those of 16 years and over
The death penalty is applied to those of 16 years and over
- JANUARY 1, 2004KansasDEATH PENALTY
Kansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded...
Kansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded and juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2004OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
Oklahoma allows the execution of juvenile offenders...
Oklahoma allows the execution of juvenile offenders of 16 years and above, but forbids the execution of mentally retarded
- JANUARY 1, 2004ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
Arkansas allows the execution of juvenile offenders...
Arkansas allows the execution of juvenile offenders of 16 years and above but forbids the execution of mentally retarded
- JANUARY 1, 2004IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Illinois does forbid the execution of the mentally...
Illinois does forbid the execution of the mentally retarded and juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2004FloridaDEATH PENALTY
Florida does not forbid the execution of juvenile offenders...
Florida does not forbid the execution of juvenile offenders from the age of 17