The people on death row
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On death row live the people who have been sentenced and are waiting to be executed. The wait can last years or decades, often in isolation, with a date that arrives or is put off again and again. It is a punishment inside the punishment, and in many countries the number of people held there is the hardest figure of all to obtain.
This page collects the news on the people on death row, on the conditions they are held in, and on the numbers the association is able to document.
Latest news
- JANUARY 1, 2020NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Death sentences are mandatory for murder but also non lethal offences
Death sentences are mandatory for murder but also non lethal offences
- JANUARY 1, 2020ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
The Zambian penal code, section 43, foresees that the death penalty...
The Zambian penal code, section 43, foresees that the death penalty...
- JANUARY 1, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Capital punishment remains for crimes
Capital punishment remains for crimes such as murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse of children.
- JANUARY 1, 2020BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty has been on the books in Botswana since its independence from Great Britain in 1966.
The death penalty has been on the books in Botswana since its independence from Great Britain in 1966.
- JANUARY 1, 2020Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Capital crimes are: murder, causing an innocent person
Capital crimes are: murder, causing an innocent person
- JANUARY 1, 2020BahrainDEATH PENALTY
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must
- JANUARY 1, 2020United StatesDEATH PENALTY
To date, the death penalty no longer exists in 18 of the 50 U.S. States
To date, the death penalty no longer exists in 18 of the 50 U.S. States
- JANUARY 1, 2020United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is rarely applied in the UAE...
The death penalty is rarely applied in the UAE...
- JANUARY 1, 2020QatarDEATH PENALTY
Since March 2013, after ten consecutive years without executions...
Since March 2013, after ten consecutive years without executions...
- JANUARY 1, 2020GuyanaDEATH PENALTY
Murder and treason are capital crimes.
Murder and treason are capital crimes.
- JANUARY 1, 2020CubaDEATH PENALTY
In April 2013, after ten consecutive years without carrying out executions
In April 2013, after ten consecutive years without carrying out executions
- JANUARY 1, 2020EswatiniDEATH PENALTY
The Criminal Law and Procedure Act No.67 of 1938, as amended in 1975...
The Criminal Law and Procedure Act No.67 of 1938, as amended in 1975...
- DECEMBER 17, 2019DEATH PENALTY
KENTUCKY (USA): BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE, GOVERNOR MATT BEVIN COMMUTES THE SENTENCES OF TWO DEATH-ROW PRISONERS
In his last series of acts before leaving office, outgoing Governor Matt Bevin has commuted the sentences of two of the state’s longest serving death-row prisoners to life with the possibility of parole.
DECEMBER 9, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Kentucky. Governor Matt Bevin Commutes the Sentences of Two Death-Row Prisoners.
USA - Kentucky. Governor Matt Bevin Commutes the Sentences of Two Death-Row Prisoners.
NOVEMBER 22, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Summer 2019 “Death Row USA” Shows Smallest U.S. Death-Row Population in 27 Years.
USA - Summer 2019 “Death Row USA” Shows Smallest U.S. Death-Row Population in 27 Years.
- NOVEMBER 18, 2019PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania ends solitary confinement of inmates on death row.
USA - Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania ends solitary confinement of inmates on death row.
NOVEMBER 11, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: PRESIDENT SIRISENA GRANTS PARDON TO ROYAL PARK MURDER CONVICT ON DEATH ROW
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena in the final week of his term in office has pardoned a death row prisoner who was convicted of a murder of a Swedish teenager in 2005, local media reported on 9 November 2019.
- NOVEMBER 5, 2019IdahoDEATH PENALTY
USA - Idaho. Prosecutor Says Thomas Creech, State’s Longest-Serving Death-Row Prisoner, Should Not Be Executed.
USA - Idaho. Prosecutor Says Thomas Creech, State’s Longest-Serving Death-Row Prisoner, Should Not Be Executed.
- OCTOBER 30, 2019DEATH PENALTY
OHIO, UTAH, WYOMING: MORE THAN 250 CONSERVATIVE LEADERS JOIN CALL TO END DEATH PENALTY
More than 250 conservative leaders from across the country have signed on to a statement expressing their opposition to capital punishment as administered across the United States and issued a “call to our fellow conservatives to reexamine the death penal
OCTOBER 30, 2019KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: EX-DEATH ROW PRISONER CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
A former death row prisoner has spoken out against capital punishment on the 17th World Day against the death penalty, saying it deprives convicts of contrition.
- OCTOBER 28, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - More Than 250 Conservative Leaders Join Call to End Death Penalty.
USA - More Than 250 Conservative Leaders Join Call to End Death Penalty.
- OCTOBER 25, 2019DEATH PENALTY
UN EXPERT: IRAN CONTINUES TO EXECUTE CHILDREN, HAS 90 ON DEATH ROW
Iran executed seven child offenders last year and two so far this year even though human rights law prohibits the death penalty for anyone under age 18, a UN independent human rights expert said on 23 October 2019.
- OCTOBER 24, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Defiant Iran Faces Condemnation of Its Human Rights Record on Several Fronts.
IRAN - Defiant Iran Faces Condemnation of Its Human Rights Record on Several Fronts.
- OCTOBER 23, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - UN expert: Iran continues to execute minors, has 90 on death row
IRAN - UN expert: Iran continues to execute minors, has 90 on death row
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2019FranceDEATH PENALTY
UN EXPERT URGES FRANCE TO TRY NATIONALS ON DEATH ROW IN IRAQ
A U.N. human rights expert on 12 August 2019 called on the French government to repatriate and try seven French nationals sentenced to death on terror charges in Iraq.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: SUPREME PEOPLE’S COURT ISSUES NEW GUIDELINES FOR DEATH PENALTY
The Supreme People’s Court issued guidelines on 9 August 2019 to regulate death sentence review and execution procedures to better protect the rights and interests of people on death row.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: 2,742 INMATES AWAITING EXECUTION
The controller general, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Ahmed Jafa’aru on 5 September 2019 revealed that Nigeria now has 2,742 inmates on death row.
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2019OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Upholds Ohio Execution Protocol.
USA - Ohio. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Upholds Ohio Execution Protocol.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2019UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA ABOLISHES MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY
Parliament in Uganda on 21 August 2019 passed a law that abolishes the mandatory death penalty for certain crimes, amending four different laws that had earlier prescribed capital punishment, including the Anti-Terrorism Act.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2019NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: ZAMFARA GOVERNOR PARDONS 150 INMATES, INCLUDING FIVE ON DEATH ROW
The governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawallen, on 9 August 2019 granted amnesty to 150 inmates at the Gusau Maximum Security Prison.