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
- JULY 23, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Forty-nine people on death row in Vietnam's southern...
Forty-nine people on death row in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City were expected to be executed soon, after their appeals for presidential clemency had been rejected, state media said
- JULY 19, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian newspaper Iran web site reported that the...
The Iranian newspaper Iran web site reported that the death sentences of five people were to be carried out in public on the 19th and 20th of July
- JULY 17, 2003AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Le My Linh, an Australian woman condemned to death...
Le My Linh, an Australian woman condemned to death by a Vietnamese court in 2002 on drug trafficking charges, had her sentence commuted to life imprisonment
- JULY 9, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Four people on death-row in Vietnam, including Le My...
Four people on death-row in Vietnam, including Le My Linh, an Australian citizen of Vietnamese origin, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment
- JULY 3, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court changed...
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court changed the life sentence of Sardar Khan to a death sentence for murdering his wife in 1997
- JULY 2, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
A Sri Lankan court sentenced five people to death,...
A Sri Lankan court sentenced five people to death, including two police officers, for their role in a massacre at a detention camp housing suspected Tamil Tiger rebels and former child soldiers
- JUNE 30, 2003GhanaDEATH PENALTY
President John Agyekum Kufuor granted amnesty to a...
President John Agyekum Kufuor granted amnesty to a number of prisoners including those on the death row, life sentence and first offenders
- JUNE 28, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Emma Bonino MEP asked Democratic Republic of Congo's...
Emma Bonino MEP asked Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila to pardon 30 people sentenced to death for the murder of his father, former president Laurent Kabila
- JUNE 26, 2003OhioDEATH PENALTY
Gov. Bob Taft granted clemency to Jerome Campbell....
Gov. Bob Taft granted clemency to Jerome Campbell. Campbell is the 1st death row inmate to receive clemency in 12 years
- MAY 23, 2003JapanDEATH PENALTY
A group of 122 lawmakers calling for the abolition...
A group of 122 lawmakers calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan said they would submit a bill demanding a halt to hangings to the current Diet session in June 2003
- MAY 21, 2003YemenDEATH PENALTY
The Republic of Yemen TV reported that President Ali...
The Republic of Yemen TV reported that President Ali Abdallah Salih granted amnesty to the leaders of the secession of 1994, some of whom had been sentenced to death in absentia
- MAY 21, 2003SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
Tan Chun Seng, 28, had his death sentence for murder...
Tan Chun Seng, 28, had his death sentence for murder commuted to ten years imprisonment for culpable homicide by the Court of Appeals in Singapore
- MAY 16, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Two men on death row in Vietnam had their sentences...
Two men on death row in Vietnam had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment by Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong
- APRIL 17, 2003PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
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- MARCH 28, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
In Springfield, the Illinois House passed legislation...
In Springfield, the Illinois House passed legislation that would limit the governor's power to grant blanket clemency
- MARCH 27, 2003IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
Indonesia will delay the execution of six convicts...
Indonesia will delay the execution of six convicts including an Indian on death row after five of them appealed to the Supreme Court for a second review, prosecutors said
- MARCH 18, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar...
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar pardoned a Jordanian journalist who had been convicted of spying and sentenced to death, according to the official Qatari official news agency
- MARCH 18, 2003JordanDEATH PENALTY
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar...
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar pardoned a Jordanian journalist who had been convicted of spying and sentenced to death, according to the official Qatari official news agency
- MARCH 15, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Cases involving DNA analysis from the troubled Houston...
Cases involving DNA analysis from the troubled Houston police crime lab won't be treated any differently than other capital cases that reach Gov
- MARCH 14, 2003OhioDEATH PENALTY
Cleveland killer Ernest Martin got a three-month reprieve...
Cleveland killer Ernest Martin got a three-month reprieve from execution in the first of what could be many cases involving capital punishment and the mentally retarded
- MARCH 12, 2003TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey...
The European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey for violating the human rights of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan
- MARCH 1, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong granted amnesty...
Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong granted amnesty to five people on death row, state media said
- FEBRUARY 26, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
A jury issued Illinois' first death sentence since then-Gov
A jury issued Illinois' first death sentence since then-Gov
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed...
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed on a Jordanian journalist convicted of spying
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003JordanDEATH PENALTY
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed...
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed on a Jordanian journalist convicted of spying
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003South DakotaDEATH PENALTY
Juvenile murderers should remain eligible to receive...
Juvenile murderers should remain eligible to receive the death penalty in South Dakota, a split legislative committee recommended
- FEBRUARY 19, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
A division bench of Sindh High Court converted the...
A division bench of Sindh High Court converted the death sentence awarded to a man know as Azam to life imprisonment
- FEBRUARY 18, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of three...
The Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of three gang rape convicts into ten years imprisonment each
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last...
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last ditch effort to save Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey from a death sentence for importing heroin into Indonesia
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last...
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last ditch effort to save Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey from a death sentence for importing heroin into Indonesia