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
JUNE 2, 2025CaliforniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - California. New DNA testing proves innocence of Kenneth Clair
Man who has spent 40 years in prison
MAY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on May 26
Farman Koushaki, Yashar Jafari, Akbar Ebrahimi + 2 Unk.
MAY 25, 2025United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - The Rev. Jeff Hood nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Has witnessed 9 executions
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 men executed in Isfahan on May 11, 14, and 21
Mohammad Amin Kolsoomi, Jafar Ghorbani, Mohammad Naeim Daneshi and Jaber Shehkaramzehi
MAY 15, 2025UtahDEATH PENALTYUSA - Utah. Supreme Court confirms new trial for Douglas Stewart Carter
- MAY 7, 2025United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Victims’ Families Remain Divided on Federal Death Penalty
MAY 2, 2025ItalyDEATH PENALTYUSA - Illinois. Former Gov. George Ryan Dies at 91
He cleared death row in 2003
MAY 2, 2025United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Death Row USA Spring 2025
2067 persons on death row as April 1, 2025
APRIL 29, 2025North CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - North Carolina. House committee approves HB 270 on death penalty
Reintroducing electric chair and firing squad
APRIL 24, 2025LouisianaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Louisiana. Jimmie Duncan’s conviction overturned
56, White
APRIL 17, 2025United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Who are the death row executioners?
Disgraced doctors, suspended nurses and drunk drivers
APRIL 16, 2025TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Larry Estrada has death sentence commuted to life
- APRIL 7, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
TWO YEARS AFTER ABOLISHING THE MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY, DATA SHOWS MALAYSIA MAY BE MOVING ON FOR GOOD
Within two years year of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim administration abolishing the mandatory death penalty, the number of death row inmates has plunged by nearly 90 per cent
APRIL 1, 2025IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 564 PEOPLE ON DEATH ROW, HIGHEST SINCE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
According to the latest data published by Project 39A in its Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report, in 2024 sessions courts imposed 139 death sentences, higher than the yearly average since 2016.
APRIL 1, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 62nd Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
MARCH 29, 2025South CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - South Carolina. I saw South Carolina use a firing squad to execute a man
I am sick with rage
- MARCH 26, 2025IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA CONFIRMS 25 NATIONALS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN UAE, EXECUTIONS PENDING
The number of Indian nationals facing the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates, with sentences yet to be implemented, stands at 25, the central government informed Parliament on March 20, 2025.
MARCH 25, 2025JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: EXONERATED PRISONER AWARDED $1.4M AFTER 46 YEARS SPENT ON DEATH ROW
A Japanese man wrongly convicted of murder who was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate has been awarded $1.4m in compensation, an official said on March 24, 2025.
MARCH 16, 2025ArkansasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Arkansas. Nitrogen gas bill could restart executions
If Gov. Sarah Sanders signs into law HB 1489
MARCH 13, 2025NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: DEATH ROW INMATES NOW 3,688, AG NCOS CG TELLS SENATE
The Acting Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr. Sylvester Nwakuche, on March 12, 2025 said 3,688 prisoners are currently on death row in various correctional centres across the country.
MARCH 11, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 59th week of "No to execution Tuesdays"
MARCH 7, 2025TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Brittany Holberg’s conviction reversed
MARCH 2, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - State-affiliated Sociologist Ahmad Bokharaee Admits 7,000 Await Execution
A rare and startling admission
FEBRUARY 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Isfahan on February 22
Shahin Goudarzi, Asghar Dehghani, Ahmad Hanafi, Mojtaba Khorramdel and Vahid Mohebi
FEBRUARY 21, 2025TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Keri Blakinger Receives Oscar Nomination for Death Row Documentary
"I Am Ready, Warden"
- FEBRUARY 18, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 56th Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
FEBRUARY 18, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SOMALI NATIONAL, SAUDI CITIZEN EXECUTED FOR HASHISH TRAFFICKING, MURDER
Saudi authorities executed a Somali national convicted of drug smuggling and a Saudi citizen found guilty of murder, the Ministry of Interior announced on February 16, 2025.
- FEBRUARY 13, 2025United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - ‘Warden, I am ready’: documentary on the death penalty as seen from the point of view of a victim's son
FEBRUARY 12, 2025TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Nuns on Texas death row
Sisters of Mary Morning Star
FEBRUARY 10, 2025TennesseeDEATH PENALTYUSA - Tennessee. Kevin Burns, the death row inmate who celebrates mass on death row
Burns is an evangelical pastor