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
OCTOBER 26, 2023TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Stay of impending execution of William Speer
OCTOBER 25, 2023OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Michael R. Turner to now serve life without parole
Has been on death row since 2002
OCTOBER 18, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: DELHI HC COMMUTES ARIZ KHAN'S DEATH PENALTY TO A LIFE SENTENCE IN BATLA HOUSE ENCOUNTER CASE
The Delhi high court on October 12, 2023 commuted Ariz Khan's death penalty to a life sentence, a decision stemming from his conviction in the high-profile 2008 Batla House encounter.
OCTOBER 9, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: APPEALS COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE ON LOVERS FOR MURDER TO 30 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
A Malaysian Court of Appeal on October 5, 2023 commuted the death sentence imposed on a pair of lovers to 30 years in prison for the murder of a five-year-old boy, who is the son of the accused female, nine years ago.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF CONVICT IN RAPE & MURDER CASE OF 4.5 YEARS OLD GIRL
The Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench, has set aside the death sentence of a man who was convicted of rape and murder of four-year-old girl and has commuted it to the life imprisonment.
AUGUST 30, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: PRESIDENT REDUCES DEATH PENALTIES TO LIFE SENTENCES FOR 11 PRISONERS
President Vo Van Thuong on August 30, 2023 decided to reduce death penalties to life sentences for 11 prisoners.
AUGUST 23, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: COUPLE'S DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED TO 40 YEARS JAIL FOR MURDERING DAUGHTER
A married couple escaped the gallows in Malaysia after the Court of Appeal on August 23, 2023 commuted their death sentence to a maximum jail sentence of 40 years for murdering their daughter.
AUGUST 10, 2023LouisianaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Louisiana. Pardon Board complies with Governor's request for clemency hearings
AUGUST 9, 2023IndonesiaDEATH PENALTYINDONESIA: TOP COP'S DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER COMMUTED TO LIFE IN PRISON
A senior police official sentenced to death for murdering his bodyguard has had his punishment commuted to life in prison by Indonesia's Supreme Court, an official said August 8, 2023.
AUGUST 9, 2023LouisianaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Louisiana - Governor Edwards Directs Board to Consider Death Row Clemency Petitions
- AUGUST 1, 2023BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH HANGS TWO CONVICTS IN 2006 MURDER OF RAJSHAHI UNIVERSITY’S PROF TAHER
The Rajshahi Central Jail authorities on July 27, 2023 hanged two death row convicts in the 2006 murder of Professor S Taher Ahmed, a teacher of Rajshahi University’s geology and mining department.
JULY 31, 2023MoroccoDEATH PENALTYMOROCCO: KING MOHAMMED VI GRANTS ROYAL PARDON TO 2,052 CONVICTS
On the occasion of the Throne Day, King Mohammed VI has granted a royal pardon to 2,052 people sentenced by different Moroccan courts, said a statement released by the Ministry of Justice on July 29, 2023.
JULY 24, 2023KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: RUTO REDUCES SENTENCES FOR ALL DEATH ROW CONVICTS
President William Ruto on July 21, 2023 reduced the death sentence for all capital offenders to a life sentence.
JULY 20, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: RELIEF FOR KENYAN WOMAN FACING DEATH SENTENCE
The Court of Appeal in Malaysia on July 20, 2023 handed a Kenyan woman a lesser sentencing after reviewing her case in which she was found guilty of trafficking drugs and other illegal substances.
JULY 5, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: LAW FOR REVIEW OF DEATH SENTENCE NOT IN FORCE YET, SAYS RAMKARPAL
Close to 1,000 prisoners on death row or serving natural life jail terms will have to wait before filing applications to the Federal Court for a review of their sentences under a law passed by Parliament recently, Free Malaysia Today reported on July 4, 2
- JUNE 27, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: DELHI HIGH COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN CONVICTED FOR KIDNAPPING, MURDER OF 12-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOUR
The Delhi High Court on June 26, 2023 commuted the death sentence awarded earlier to a man convicted of kidnapping and murdering a 12-year-old child in the year 2009.
JUNE 6, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO AUSTRALIANS FACING DEATH PENALTY GRANTED CLEMENCY
Two Australians sentenced to death in Vietnam have been granted clemency after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid an official visit to the Southeast Asian country.
JUNE 6, 2023MissouriDEATH PENALTYUSA - Missouri. Michael Tisius, 42, White, executed
After Jurors Waver on Death Sentence
MAY 31, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: OGUN STATE GOVERNOR ABIODUN SWORN-IN FOR SECOND TERM, PARDONS 49 PRISON INMATES, 3 ON DEATH ROW
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was on TMay 30, 2023, sworn in for second term, announcing state pardon for 49 inmates from different correctional facilities in the state.
- MAY 22, 2023ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
ZIMBABWE RELEASES PRISONERS IN AMNESTY, REDUCING OVERCROWDING
Zimbabwe has begun releasing more than 4,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty that authorities say will help ease congestion in some overcrowded jails.
MAY 15, 2023ZimbabweDEATH PENALTYZIMBABWE: MNANGAGWA GRANTS AMNESTY TO THOUSANDS OF NON-VIOLENT INMATES
An amnesty has been granted to thousands of prisoners serving time for non-violent offences with President Emmerson Mnangagwa exercising executive clemency to release inmates who had served at least one third of their jail term
- MAY 10, 2023PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: SHC COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF TWO MURDERERS TO LIFE TERM
The Sindh High Court on May 8, 2023 commuted the death penalty of two appellants to life imprisonment in a murder case.
- MAY 6, 2023Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
MYANMAR: MILITARY COMMUTES 38 DEATH SENTENCES AS PART OF AMNESTY FOR MORE THAN 2,100 POLITICAL PRISONERS
Myanmar’s ruling military council on May 3, 2023 said it is releasing more than 2,100 political prisoners as a humanitarian gesture.
MAY 2, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN WHO KILLED SISTER AND HER LOVER
India’s Supreme Court on April 28, 2023 commuted the death sentence of a man to life sentence, namely Digambar who murdered his sister along with her lover.
APRIL 30, 2023SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: DEATH PENALTY COMMUTED OR HEROIN DEALER
The Singapore Court of Appeal changed the death sentence of a heroin dealer to 10 years in prison on April 26, 2023, the same day that Singaporean Indian man Tangaraju Suppiah was executed for allegedly abetting in the trafficking of 1kg of marijuana (can
APRIL 26, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Board denies clemency for Glossip
Against the advice of the Attorney General
APRIL 17, 2023IndonesiaDEATH PENALTYINDONESIA: PRESIDENT GRANTS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ CLEMENCY TO DEATH ROW DRUG CONVICT
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has granted clemency to a woman who spent more than 20 years on death row for drug smuggling, the convict’s lawyer said on 14 April, 2023.
APRIL 4, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Report on 200 Days of Protest Repression
List of at Risk Protesters
- MARCH 27, 2023United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
ISRAELI SENTENCED TO DEATH IN UAE RETURNS HOME
Fida Kiwan, a Haifa native who was sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates for drug trafficking, was pardoned by the UAE and given leave to return home, according to a March 25, 2023 Walla! report.
- MARCH 22, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY OF SUNDARRAJAN WHO MURDERED 7-YEAR-OLD BOY
The Supreme Court on March 21, 2023 commuted the death sentence of a man, who had kidnapped and killed a seven-year-old boy in Tamil Nadu in 2009, to 20-year imprisonment, saying there was “possibility of reformation” even though he has committed a ghastl