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
- JUNE 28, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Foreign prisoners' chances of clemency under a Royal...
Foreign prisoners' chances of clemency under a Royal Pardon from Thailand's King may have ended under a tougher government stance against drug traffickers
- JUNE 28, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russia's lower house of parliament raised the problem...
Russia's lower house of parliament raised the problem of the presidential commission for pardons
- JUNE 27, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed the government's...
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed the government's intention to deny drug traffickers on death row the right to request a royal pardon
- JUNE 27, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The work of the Russian presidential clemency commission...
The work of the Russian presidential clemency commission has been suspended, and its members have apprehensions that it might be completely dissolved, the commission's head, prominent Russian writer Anatoly Pristavkin, said
- JUNE 25, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following His Majesty...
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following His Majesty the King's comment in favour of harsh punishment for drug traffickers, said that there will be no more royal pardons in drug cases
- JUNE 4, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The Presidential Pardons Commission, which has been...
The Presidential Pardons Commission, which has been operating for nine and a half years, may soon cease operating, rumours reported by the Nezavisimaya Gazeta said
- MAY 18, 2001IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
Two convicts sentenced to death for murder were executed...
Two convicts sentenced to death for murder were executed at midnight after their request for a presidential pardon was rejected
- APRIL 19, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commuted the death...
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commuted the death sentences of 16 convicts to life imprisonment based on the recommendation of the Department of Justice (DOJ)
- APRIL 12, 2001VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Vietnam President Tran Duc Luong commuted the death...
Vietnam President Tran Duc Luong commuted the death sentences for 13 inmates to life imprisonment
- APRIL 9, 2001OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
In an unprecedented move, Governor Frank Keating granted...
In an unprecedented move, Governor Frank Keating granted clemency to Phillip Smith
- APRIL 3, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has commuted to life...
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has commuted to life imprisonment all death sentences
- MARCH 31, 2001BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
"Marietta Bosch was hanged" said Herman Kau, Botswana's...
"Marietta Bosch was hanged" said Herman Kau, Botswana's commissioner for prisons
- MARCH 31, 2001UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
The Presidium of the Supreme Court commuted two death...
The Presidium of the Supreme Court commuted two death sentences, passed in November 1999 on Arsen Arutyunyan and Danis Sirazhev, to 15 years imprisonment
- MARCH 27, 2001IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
The Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin...
The Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa submitted to the House of Representatives a new clemency bill
- MARCH 6, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commuted the capital...
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commuted the capital sentences of two condemned Edgar Maligaya and Rodrigo Calma to life sentences on the recommendation of Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, saving them from their scheduled execution on March 7
- MARCH 1, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The government is considering a move to speed up the...
The government is considering a move to speed up the execution of drug offenders by eliminating the appeals process for Royal clemency
- JANUARY 20, 2001Governo Federale degli Stati UnitiDEATH PENALTY
An Alabama man once in line to become the first person...
An Alabama man once in line to become the first person executed by the federal government since 1963 -- and the first condemned under the drug kingpin statute -- had his death sentence set aside by President Clinton, who changed it to life in prison witho
- JANUARY 18, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
[photographer] Oliviero Toscani commenting on the postponement...
[photographer] Oliviero Toscani commenting on the postponement of the execution of North Carolina death row inmate Bobby Lee Harris, said "I hope he gets a commutation of his sentence, or even a pardon
- JANUARY 12, 2001LebanonDEATH PENALTY
The Committee for Amnesty has started examining the...
The Committee for Amnesty has started examining the files of four cases involving irrevocable death penalties before passing them on to the Justice Minister and subsequently to President Emile Lahoud, whose signature is final
- JANUARY 1, 2001NigeriaDEATH 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, 2001BarbadosDEATH 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, 2001ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
Arkansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded...
Arkansas forbids the execution of the mentally retarded but does not forbid the execution of juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2001CaliforniaDEATH 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, 2001IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Penal Code...
The death penalty is provided for by the Penal Code and by Art
- JANUARY 1, 2001KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
A new Penal Code entered into force in January 1998...
A new Penal Code entered into force in January 1998 and reduced the number of capital crimes, also replacing the death penalty with a maximum of 30 years
- JANUARY 1, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
According to Section 31 of the Constitution, "A person...
According to Section 31 of the Constitution, "A person shall enjoy rights and liberties in his/her life and person
- DECEMBER 26, 2000BahrainDEATH PENALTY
Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa issued a decree...
Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa issued a decree commuting to life terms the death sentences against Ali Ahmed al-Asfoor, Youssef Hassan Abdul-Baqi and Ahmed Khalil al-Kattab, three Bahraini Shi'ite Muslims for a 1996 arson attack in which seven Bang
- DECEMBER 7, 2000KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
President Askar Akayev pardoned six men found guilty...
President Askar Akayev pardoned six men found guilty of plotting to assassinate him
- NOVEMBER 21, 2000North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Just hours before his execution on November 22, North...
Just hours before his execution on November 22, North Carolina death row inmate Marcus Carter had his sentence commuted to life in prison without parole by Governor Jim Hunt
- NOVEMBER 9, 2000TexasDEATH PENALTY
Miguel Flores was executed in Texas despite protests...
Miguel Flores was executed in Texas despite protests from the Mexican government and European Union that Texas authorities violated the article 36 of the Vienna Convention in failing to inform Flores, a Mexican national, of his right to consular assistanc