Death sentences
Archive theme
A death sentence is not the same thing as an execution: years can pass between the two, and the sentence may be overturned on appeal, commuted, or never carried out. Counting them separately measures two different things: how far a state resorts to capital punishment, and how far it actually applies it.
This page collects the news on death sentences handed down around the world, on the later stages of appeal, and on the sentences upheld or overturned. Executions have a page of their own.
Latest news
- AUGUST 22, 2018ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Arkansas. A jury sentenced Scotty Ray Gardner to death
USA - Arkansas. A jury sentenced Scotty Ray Gardner to death
- AUGUST 22, 2018ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Arkansas. A jury sentenced Scotty Ray Gardner to death.
USA - Arkansas. A jury sentenced Scotty Ray Gardner to death.
- AUGUST 14, 2018TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan to death.
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan to death.
- AUGUST 10, 2018MississippiDEATH PENALTY
USA - Mississippi. Roger Gillett is resentenced to life without parole.
USA - Mississippi. Roger Gillett is resentenced to life without parole.
AUGUST 8, 2018Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: TWO MURDER-CONVICTED ARMY OFFICERS GIVEN DEATH PENALTY
Two former Army officers have been sentenced to death by the Trincomalee High Court for assaulting and murdering an individual from Gurunagar area in Jaffna after taking him in for interrogations, says Ada Derana reporter.
AUGUST 7, 2018ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: DRUG LORD BILLED AS THE 'GODFATHER OF CRYSTAL METH' IS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Chinese drug lord known as the 'godfather of crystal meth' was sentenced to death.
- AUGUST 6, 2018OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. A jury has recommended the death penalty for Anthony Kirkland
USA - Ohio. A jury has recommended the death penalty for Anthony Kirkland
AUGUST 5, 2018BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 2 GIRLS
A court sentenced a woman to death for killing two girls in 2017 in Chapainawabganj.
AUGUST 5, 2018IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: TERRORIST SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER KILLING 19 PERSONS, JOINING AL-QAEDA
The Diyala Criminal Court has sentenced a terrorist to death over killing 19 persons in an armed attack against a village in the province, the High Judicial Council said.
AUGUST 4, 2018PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED DEATH SENTENCE
The Judge of Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) Atiqur Rehman Bhindar awarded three times death sentences to an accused involved in a double murder case.
AUGUST 4, 2018PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: IMRAN ALI SENTENCED TO DEATH IN KASUR RAPE AND MURDER CASES
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of three girls in Kasur city of Pakistan.
AUGUST 3, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TARGETING MILITARY FACILITIES
The Saudi judiciary issued a preliminary ruling for a death sentence against a resident of Yemeni nationality, on charges of attacking vital and military sites and facilities.
- AUGUST 2, 2018ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE 'TRUE CRIME' NOVELIST SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR COMMITTING THE MURDERS THAT INSPIRED HIS WORK
A famous crime fiction writer in China's Zhejiang Province has turned out to be a robber with four deaths on his conscience.
AUGUST 2, 2018KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR WITHDRAWING MONEY FROM DEAD WOMAN’S PHONE
An act of withdrawing Sh 26,600 from a deceased model's Mpesa account has handed a 34 year old man a death sentence at the Mombasa law court.
AUGUST 2, 2018VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MAJOR DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE
The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City has handed down the capital punishment on five defendants involving in the illegal trade and transportation of a big amount of drug at the end of a four-day trial.
JULY 31, 2018GhanaDEATH PENALTYGHANA: TWO TAMALE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Tamale High Court in the Northern region has convicted two students to death for killing a pastor in a robbery attack 10 months ago.
- JULY 31, 2018OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. Governor spares record number of death row inmates.
USA - Ohio. Governor spares record number of death row inmates.
- JULY 30, 2018IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: 4 AL-QAEDA MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A criminal court in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province sentenced four suspected al-Qaeda militants to death for involvement in terrorist attacks in 2007.
JULY 30, 2018Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POSSESSING HEROIN
Two men who were found guilty of keeping 2.8 grams of heroin in their possession were sentenced to death by Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga.
- JULY 28, 2018EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT COURT HANDS DOWN 75 DEATH SENTENCES
An Egyptian court sentenced to death 75 extremists, including Muslim Brotherhood leaders, and referred what was the largest single case of capital punishment convictions to the country’s top religious authority.
- JULY 26, 2018Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
GAZA STRIP: TWO DEATH SENTENCES ISSUED AGAINST TWO CIVILIANS
Gaza Court of First Instance issued 2 death sentences by hanging against (G. H.) and (Z. Q.) from Gaza City, after being convicted of participation in murder.
JULY 26, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: YOUTH GETS DEATH SENTENCE AFTER QUICK TRIAL IN MINOR’S RAPE AND MURDER CASE
A 25-year-old youth was awarded a death sentence in Madhya Pradesh for raping and killing a six-year-old girl
- JULY 25, 2018IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ SENTENCES TO DEATH ISLAMIC STATE MEMBER WHO PARTOOK IN SHINGAL MASSACRE
An Iraqi Criminal Court sentenced to death by hanging a member of the Islamic State (IS)
- JULY 25, 2018Papua New GuineaDEATH PENALTY
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: EIGHT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SORCERY KILLINGS
Eight people have been sentenced to death and 88 jailed for life over the sorcery-related killings of seven men and children in Papua New Guinea, a report said.
- JULY 25, 2018FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced James Colley to death
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced James Colley to death
- JULY 24, 2018United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE: INDIAN WALKS FREE 12 YEARS AFTER GETTING DEATH SENTENCE
An Indian man, who was on death row for murdering a compatriot over bootlegging will travel back to his home country a free man, later today
JULY 24, 2018NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR KILLING LAWYER
A Sokoto State High Court sentenced a 37-year-old civil servant, Atiku Galadima to death by hanging for killing a lawyer, Sirajo Abubakar.
- JULY 24, 2018FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury recommended a sentence of death for Michael Lawrence Woodbury
USA - Florida. A jury recommended a sentence of death for Michael Lawrence Woodbury
- JULY 23, 2018IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR INVOLVEMENT IN KILLING 34 IRAQI, IRANIAN SHIITES
An Iraqi court has sentenced a man to death over his involvement in killing 34 Iraqi, Iranian Shiites while heading for Karbala to celebrate a religious ceremony.
- JULY 21, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
RAJASTHAN: 19-YEAR-OLD GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPING INFANT IN ALWAR
A special court in Alwar sentenced a 19-year-old to death for raping a seven-month-old child in Rajasthan’s Laxmangarh area.