The people on death row
Archive theme
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, 2009UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda's penal code provides for 15 capital offences
Uganda's penal code provides for 15 capital offences
- JANUARY 1, 2009MongoliaDEATH PENALTY
As reduced by an amendment of 1994 to the criminal code...
As reduced by an amendment of 1994 to the criminal code...
- JANUARY 1, 2009JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
On the issue of capital punishment, the Jamaica Constitution states...
On the issue of capital punishment, the Jamaica Constitution states, "No person shall intentionally be deprived of his life save in execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted".
- JANUARY 1, 2009BelizeDEATH PENALTY
Murder and military offences are capital crimes.
Murder and military offences are capital crimes.
- JANUARY 1, 2009GhanaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty has been in Ghana’s statute books...
The death penalty has been in Ghana’s statute books since the inception of English common law in the country in 1874.
- DECEMBER 28, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
a woman who was sentenced to death over a 2007 robbery-murder case committed suicide at a detention house in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
a woman who was sentenced to death over a 2007 robbery-murder case committed suicide at a detention house in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
- DECEMBER 23, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
Behnood Shojaee, a juvenile on death row in Iran, is in imminent danger of execution and is to be executed in less than 48 hours
Behnood Shojaee, a juvenile on death row in Iran, is in imminent danger of execution and is to be executed in less than 48 hours
- DECEMBER 19, 2008JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
JAMAICAN MPS VOTE TO KEEP DEATH PENALTY
Jamaica's senate voted to retain the death penalty, a punishment that has not been carried out in the country
- DECEMBER 18, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japanese death row inmate Kaoru Kobayashi, who previously asked his lawyer to withdraw his appeal
Japanese death row inmate Kaoru Kobayashi, who previously asked his lawyer to withdraw his appeal
- DECEMBER 16, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
a 69-year-old death row inmate died of multiple organ failure after a battle with cancer
a 69-year-old death row inmate died of multiple organ failure after a battle with cancer
- DECEMBER 12, 2008TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Mariano Rosales Wins New Trial After 23 years on Texas’ death row
USA - Texas. Mariano Rosales Wins New Trial After 23 years on Texas’ death row
- DECEMBER 4, 2008TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Historic low number of death sentences in Texas in 2008
USA - Texas. Historic low number of death sentences in Texas in 2008
- NOVEMBER 20, 2008United States Armed ForcesDEATH PENALTY
USA. FIRST MILITARY EXECUTION SINCE 1961 SCHEDULED NEXT MONTH
A U.S. soldier convicted of rape and murder two decades ago will be executed December 10 in the
- NOVEMBER 20, 2008United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - The U.S. military had scheduled its first execution since 1961 for December 10
USA - The U.S. military had scheduled its first execution since 1961 for December 10
- NOVEMBER 15, 2008NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA LEADER PARDONS MAN ON DEATH ROW FOR 22 YEARS
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua pardoned a man who spent more than two decades on death row for
- NOVEMBER 14, 2008IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA TO SPEED UP LEGAL PROCESS OF PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW
the Indonesian Attorney General Office, which recorded 92 prisoners, 32 of them foreigners
- NOVEMBER 13, 2008AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
ABOUT 120 AWAITING EXECUTION IN AFGHANISTAN
About 120 Afghans are on death row and their fate rests with President Hamid Karzai, who has to approve any execution order.
- NOVEMBER 10, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: FAMILY OF CULT GURU ON DEATH ROW FILES FOR RETRIAL
the family members of death-row inmate Chizuo Matsumoto, former head of the notorious AUM Shinrikyo religious cult, filed a petition for his retrial with the Tokyo District Court in Japan.
OCTOBER 31, 2008TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: 286 INMATES ON DEATH ROW AS GOVERNMENT RECEIVES VIEWS ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
the Tanzanian government said that the last time a person was hanged in the country was in 1994, while the number of inmates on death row currently stands at 286.
- OCTOBER 28, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
Soghra Najafpour, who spent 17 years on death row in Iran, has disappeared and human rights activists are concerned for her safety
Soghra Najafpour, who spent 17 years on death row in Iran, has disappeared and human rights activists are concerned for her safety
- OCTOBER 28, 2008NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International (AI) described the 56 people currently on death row in Imo State, in Nigeria, including one woman
Amnesty International (AI) described the 56 people currently on death row in Imo State, in Nigeria, including one woman
- OCTOBER 16, 2008UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA: 18 YEARS ON DEATH ROW FOR A MURDER HE DIDN'T COMMIT
Edmary Mpagi described the 18 years he spent on death row in Uganda for a crime he didn't commit. In 1981, at age 27, he was arrested in Masaka and accused, first of aggravated robbery, and later, murder.
- OCTOBER 14, 2008TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
TANZANIA. DEBATE ON DEATH PENALTY
problems with the proposal to end the death penalty in Zanzibar prompted a heated debate among legal
- OCTOBER 10, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
ACTIVISTS REVEAL JAPAN'S DEATH ROW TO THE WORLD
Japan’s death row inmates revealed to the world their personal stories of isolation and suffering, uninformed until the last minute when they will be taken to the gallows.
- OCTOBER 6, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. 42 DEATH-ROW INMATES ARE SEEKING RETRIALS
a survey by a Japanese citizens' group opposed to capital punishment found that at least 42 of some 100
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2008CanadaDEATH PENALTY
CANADA REFUSES CLEMENCY FOR MAN ON DEATH ROW IN MONTANA
a decision by the Conservative government to stop seeking clemency for a Canadian man on death row in the United States was arbitrary and unfair, his defense lawyer said.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2008DEATH PENALTY
GEORGIA (USA). MAN ON DEATH ROW 33 YEARS IS EXECUTED
a man who had been on Georgia's death row for 33 years was executed by lethal injection for killing his wife in 1974.
- SEPTEMBER 1, 2008IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
a total of 52 inmates of prisons on Nusakambangan island, off the Cilacap coast in Indonesia
a total of 52 inmates of prisons on Nusakambangan island, off the Cilacap coast in Indonesia
- AUGUST 28, 2008Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
activists accused the government of Sierra Leone of failing...
activists accused the government of Sierra Leone of failing...
- AUGUST 20, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: ARTISTS SUMMONED FOR EXPRESSING SYMPATHY WITH MINORS ON DEATH ROW
in Iran, two movie stars and a director, Ezatollah Entezami, Parviz Parastooi and Kiumars Pour-Ahmadi were summoned to Tehran's prosecutor office for trying to save the life of a juvenile prisoner, the state-run daily Kargozaran reported.