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
- AUGUST 23, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN INCREASES HANGINGS TO EASE DEATH ROW OVERCROWDING
Japan carried out three hangings, the most executions in a single day in 31 years, as it struggles to reduce a growing death row population.
- JULY 27, 2007BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
BOTSWANA: DEATH ROW INMATE FAILS TO GET COURT OF APPEAL REPRIEVE
the fate of death row inmate Sepeni Popo lies with Botswana President Festus Mogae after he failed to get a reprieve at the Court of Appeal.
- JUNE 27, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
71 KIDS ON DEATH ROW IN IRAN
Amnesty International appealed to Iran to stop executing children and those who committed their crimes
- JUNE 13, 2007EgyptDEATH PENALTY
TEN EGYPTIANS ESCAPE DEATH PENALTY IN LIBYA
ten Egyptians on the death row in Libya escaped capital punishment after the families of their victims accepted blood money in return for pardoning them, said an Egyptian diplomat.
- MAY 22, 2007ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
ARIZONA. COMER EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION
Arizona executed a 50-year-old man by lethal injection for the murder of a camper in 1987, state prison officials said.
- MAY 11, 2007OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
OKLAHOMA (USA). MC CARTY FREED FROM DEATH ROW
Curtis Edward McCarty, who had been sentenced to die three times and has spent 21 years on Oklahoma's
- MAY 2, 2007KenyaDEATH PENALTY
eight people on death row challenged the sentence...
eight people on death row challenged the sentence...
- MARCH 21, 2007NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
DEATH ROWS OVERFLOW IN NIGERIA
about 600 people are now crammed into Nigeria's disease-infested death rows.
- MARCH 7, 2007TexasDEATH PENALTY
TEXAS. MAN EXECUTED AFTER 25 YEARS ON DEATH ROW
a man who spent 25 years on Texas death row was executed by lethal injection for a 1980 murder but only after prison officials had to carry him to the death chamber.
- FEBRUARY 20, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. NUMBER OF DEATH ROW INMATES HITS 100
the number of inmates slated for execution in Japan hit 100, with a fifth of the sentences coming in the last
- JANUARY 30, 2007TexasDEATH PENALTY
Christopher Swift, 31, was executed...
Christopher Swift, 31, was executed...
- JANUARY 21, 2007YemenDEATH PENALTY
500 CHILDREN IN PRISONS ACROSS YEMEN, NINE FACE DEATH PENALTY
some 500 children are currently in Yemeni prisons, often alongside adult criminals, says a new report on children, released by the Rights and Freedoms Committee of the Consultative Council.
- JANUARY 1, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
Offences punishable by death include:
Offences punishable by death include:
- JANUARY 1, 2007UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda's penal code provides for 15 capital offences
Uganda's penal code provides for 15 capital offences
- JANUARY 1, 2007GhanaDEATH 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.
- JANUARY 1, 2007CameroonDEATH PENALTY
Cameroon applies the death penalty for treason.
Cameroon applies the death penalty for treason.
- JANUARY 1, 2007JamaicaDEATH 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, 2007BelizeDEATH PENALTY
Murder and military offences are capital crimes.
Murder and military offences are capital crimes.
- DECEMBER 15, 2006FloridaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. FLORIDA HALTS EXECUTIONS AFTER LINGERING DEATH OF INMATE
Florida Governor Jeb Bush called a temporary halt to all executions while a panel reviews how lethal injections are administered following the lingering death of inmate Angel Nieves Diaz on December 13.
- DECEMBER 10, 2006UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA. 566 ON DEATH ROW
a total of 566 inmates condemned to death are being imprisoned at Luzira Prison and Kirinya Prison in Jinja, Uganda.
- DECEMBER 1, 2006South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
SOUTH AFRICA. SENTENCE COMMUTED FOR LAST DEATH ROW INMATE
South Africa's last death row inmate has had his sentence finally commuted to a jail term 11 years after capital punishment was declared unconstitutional, the country's highest court announced.
- DECEMBER 1, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
a 46-year-old death row inmate hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison.
a 46-year-old death row inmate hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2006ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA COURT REJECTS PLEA TO SCRAP DEATH SENTENCES
Zambia's Supreme Court has rejected a petition by two death-row inmates who sought the abolition of capital punishment on the grounds that it went against "Christian values".
- OCTOBER 19, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. RECORD NUMBER ON DEATH ROW, OFFICIAL
the number of people on death row in Bangladesh has risen to a record 860...
- OCTOBER 19, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. RIGHTS OFFICIAL CONCERNED WITH TREATMENT OF DEATH ROW PRISONERS
Asma Jahangir, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), expressed deep concern over how the authorities were dealing with prisoners on death row.
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2006MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. DEATH ROW INMATE FILES MOTION AGAINST LENGTH OF EXECUTION WAIT
it was reported that Malaysia's longest serving death row prisoner, Sapuan Hanim, has filed a motion with the Federal Court to commute his death sentence on the basis that for the past 15 years he had suffered from mental anguish and the pressure of wakin
- AUGUST 26, 2006KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA. DEATH ROW INMATES ON STRIKE
about 200 death row convicts went on a hunger strike at Kenya’s Kamiti Maximum Prison, Kenya.
- AUGUST 8, 2006KenyaDEATH PENALTY
"When we speak to them (death row prisoners)...
"When we speak to them (death row prisoners)...
- AUGUST 2, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. THOUSANDS AWAIT GALLOWS IN JAILS
more than 7,400 men and 36 women are waiting in 81 Pakistani jails to be hanged, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has confirmed.
- AUGUST 1, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. PEOPLE EXECUTED IN A HURRY
Pakistan has resorted to hurried executions to reduce congestion of overcrowded jails holding death row inmates as also to deal with the spiralling crime rate in the country, a human rights body has claimed.