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, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Code...
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Code and the legislation on civil disturbances for armed robbery, murder, treason, and offenses against the State
- JANUARY 1, 2002BarbadosDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder and treason...
The death penalty is mandatory for murder and treason - but not for mutiny
- JANUARY 1, 2002IdahoDEATH PENALTY
Idaho does not forbid the execution of the mentally...
Idaho does not forbid the execution of the mentally retarded or juvenile offenders but does have life without parole
- JANUARY 1, 2002CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
California does not forbid the execution of the mentally...
California does not forbid the execution of the mentally retarded but does forbid the execution of juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2002FloridaDEATH PENALTY
Florida does not forbid the execution of juvenile offenders
Florida does not forbid the execution of juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2002KansasDEATH PENALTY
Kansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded...
Kansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded and juvenile offenders
- DECEMBER 29, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Pardons...
Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Pardons Commission, one of the country's most liberal organisations set up under his predecessor Boris Yeltsin in 1992
- DECEMBER 20, 2001EswatiniDEATH PENALTY
With a stroke of his pen, King Mswati commuted the...
With a stroke of his pen, King Mswati commuted the death sentences of four convicted murderers on November 13, and reduced the number of inmates on death row from 13 to nine
- DECEMBER 13, 2001AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika commuted the...
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika commuted the death sentence of 116 prisoners, Algerian radio reported
- NOVEMBER 26, 2001EswatiniDEATH PENALTY
Swaziland senators have presented a motion demanding...
Swaziland senators have presented a motion demanding the Ministers of Constitutional Affairs and Justice to eventually fix a date for the execution of 12 death row inmates [four of them have been given a royal pardon]
- NOVEMBER 21, 2001North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Pope John Paul II called on North Carolina's governor...
Pope John Paul II called on North Carolina's governor to grant clemency to John Hardy Rose, who is scheduled to be executed Nov
- NOVEMBER 20, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Osaka District Court sentenced Susumu Nakayama...
The Osaka District Court sentenced Susumu Nakayama a 53-year-old murderer to death for fatally stabbing Takemitsu Kikugawa, 37, his lover Minako Kobuchi, 40, a restaurant employee, on a street in Toyonaka in the Osaka prefecture, on February 19, 1998 with
- NOVEMBER 17, 2001IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian hanged for murder was cut down alive from...
An Iranian hanged for murder was cut down alive from the gallows after four minutes, following a pardon granted by his victim's family
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001EswatiniDEATH PENALTY
Four inmates out of the 12 on death row in Swaziland...
Four inmates out of the 12 on death row in Swaziland had their death sentences commuted to life-terms, to be served until they reach 75 years of age
- NOVEMBER 6, 2001New MexicoDEATH PENALTY
Terry Clark, who raped and murdered 9-year-old Dena...
Terry Clark, who raped and murdered 9-year-old Dena Lynn on July 17, 1986, a year after he was convicted of raping another little girl, died by chemical injection - the first person executed in New Mexico in nearly 42 years
- NOVEMBER 2, 2001PakistanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court commuted into life imprisonment the...
The Supreme Court commuted into life imprisonment the death sentences handed down to 10 defendants convicted on charges of killing 34 people in three separate incidents of sectarian violence
- OCTOBER 31, 2001AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pardoned 7,000...
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pardoned 7,000 prisoners, excluding inmates serving sentences linked to "terrorism", to mark the anniversary of the revolution, a state newspaper said
- OCTOBER 29, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Filipinos generally are in favour of the death penalty,...
Filipinos generally are in favour of the death penalty, according to most independent polls
- OCTOBER 23, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Emil P
Emil P
- OCTOBER 18, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, vowing...
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, vowing to resume executing criminals, ordered officials to check if it was possible to reverse decisions to grant clemency to those formerly on death row
- OCTOBER 11, 2001NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) called on the...
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) called on the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Attahiru Barafawa and the President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Sultan Muhammed Maccido to review the death sentence passed on a pregnant woman, Safiya Hussa
- OCTOBER 2, 2001IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The death sentence imposed on Ajit Seth, the Paschim...
The death sentence imposed on Ajit Seth, the Paschim Vihar resident who had burnt two small children alive, was commuted to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court
- OCTOBER 2, 2001North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Gov. Mike Easley commuted to life in prison the death...
Gov. Mike Easley commuted to life in prison the death sentence of Robert Bacon Jr. Robert Bacon Jr
- AUGUST 17, 2001AzerbaijanDEATH PENALTY
The Azerbaijani TV station ANS reported that President...
The Azerbaijani TV station ANS reported that President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree pardoning 95 prisoners
- AUGUST 3, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The number of convicts on death row has risen dramatically...
The number of convicts on death row has risen dramatically to 326, the most there has ever been since the Corrections Department was set up
- JULY 30, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
It is estimated that there are about 50 death-row inmates...
It is estimated that there are about 50 death-row inmates in Japan
- JULY 17, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The head of the country's Pardons Commission was quoted...
The head of the country's Pardons Commission was quoted as saying that the moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, imposed despite strong public opposition, has not triggered a rise in crime
- JULY 11, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
President Vladimir Putin's stand against the death...
President Vladimir Putin's stand against the death penalty set off a fresh wave of controversy over whether the country needs the capital punishment
- JULY 2, 2001NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Nigerian...
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Nigerian government was using all diplomatic channels to plead for clemency for four Nigerians sentenced to death in Libya
- JULY 2, 2001LibyaDEATH PENALTY
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Nigerian...
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Nigerian government was using all diplomatic channels to plead for clemency for four Nigerians sentenced to death in Libya