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
JULY 16, 2017EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: PRO-MORSI DEMONSTRATOR HANDED DEATH PENALTY
- JULY 14, 2017PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. Prosecutors reached a deal with Cosmo DiNardo
USA - Pennsylvania. Prosecutors reached a deal with Cosmo DiNardo
JULY 13, 2017NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES TEENAGER TO DEATH BY HANGING
A 19-year-old male, Adeolu Bamiteko, was sentenced to death for armed robbery by an Ekiti High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti.
- JULY 12, 2017South CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - South Carolina. Judge Lawton McIntosh resentenced William Bell to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
USA - South Carolina. Judge Lawton McIntosh resentenced William Bell to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
- JULY 11, 2017EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT SENTENCES 12 BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS TO DEATH OVER VIOLENCE ALLEGATIONS
An Egyptian court sentenced 12 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group to death over breaking into a police station, official news agency MENA reported.
- JULY 11, 2017Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES PRISONER CONVICTED OF PROTEST
The Saudi authorities have executed four men who were convicted in a secret ‘terrorism’ court – including at
- JULY 10, 2017YemenDEATH PENALTY
a court in Sanaa has sentenced to death four Saudis convicted of belonging to al Qaeda and beheading 14 Yemeni
a court in Sanaa has sentenced to death four Saudis convicted of belonging to al Qaeda and beheading 14 Yemeni
JULY 7, 2017SomaliaDEATH PENALTYPUNTLAND: MILITARY COURT ISSUES DEATH SENTENCES TO AL-SHABAAB SUSPECTS
The military court of Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland, has issued death sentences and life imprisonment to 5 al-Shabaab suspects accused on terrorism charges, Garowe Online reports.
- JULY 3, 2017IdahoDEATH PENALTY
USA - Idaho. Idaho Supreme Court orders third new trial for Mark Lankford.
USA - Idaho. Idaho Supreme Court orders third new trial for Mark Lankford.
- JULY 3, 2017NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ARMED ROBBERY
An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti sentenced a man, Aanu Adu, to death for armed robbery.
- JULY 2, 2017EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: 20 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING POLICEMEN
An Egyptian court sentenced 20 people to death over the killing of 13 policemen following the army’s 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, judicial officials said.
- JULY 1, 2017BarbadosDEATH PENALTY
Jamar Dewayne Bynoe, accused of the deaths of six women in the Campus Trendz fire, has been found guilty on six counts of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
Jamar Dewayne Bynoe, accused of the deaths of six women in the Campus Trendz fire, has been found guilty on six counts of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
- JUNE 29, 2017IndiaDEATH PENALTY
DELAY IN EXECUTION OF DEATH ROW CONVICT IS DEHUMANISING: DELHI HC
Delay in the execution of a death row convict after his capital punishment has been confirmed by the highest judicial forum, torments the prisoner, has a dehumanising effect on him and violates the law, the Delhi High Court has said.
- JUNE 26, 2017DEATH PENALTY
ALABAMA (USA): GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW SHORTENING DEATH-PENALTY APPEALS
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law a statute denominated the "Fair Justice Act," which is designed to shorten the state death-penalty appeals process by requiring direct and post-conviction appeals to proceed simultaneously and provides capital app
- JUNE 26, 2017United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal government will not appeal vacated death sentence of Ronell Wilson.
USA - Federal government will not appeal vacated death sentence of Ronell Wilson.
- JUNE 25, 2017NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR ROBBERY, RAPE
An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a man, Aturoti Adeleke, to death by hanging, for armed robbery and rape.
- JUNE 24, 2017ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURTS SENTENCES 13 DRUG DEALERS TO DEATH IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS
In a joint court case by the Shanwei Intermediate People's Court and the Lufeng People's Court in China, 13 men and women on trial for drug charges were sentenced to death in front of crowds as big as 10,000.
JUNE 24, 2017ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: THIRTEEN CHINESE DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN FRONT OF 10,000 AT PUBLIC STADIUM BEFORE EIGHT ARE WHISKED OFF IN A TRUCK TO BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY
Eight were executed straight after the hearing — slammed by human rights activists as barbaric — in the southern city of Shanwei, Guangdong.
- JUNE 22, 2017Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
MYANMAR: 'EXORCIST' SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER KILLING TWO TODDLERS AND AN EIGHT-MONTH-OLD BABY
A self-proclaimed sorcerer was sentenced to death for killing three children in an exorcism ritual he believed would banish evil spirits that possessed them.
- JUNE 22, 2017OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. Judge Joseph Kirby sentenced Terry Froman to death
USA - Ohio. Judge Joseph Kirby sentenced Terry Froman to death
JUNE 22, 2017ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: 12 NANJING DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Eighteen men were on trial in Nanjing for various offences, ranging from trafficking and possession to drug abuse and re-offending.
- JUNE 19, 2017CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Judge Eric M. Nakata sentenced James Ellis to death
USA - California. Judge Eric M. Nakata sentenced James Ellis to death
- JUNE 19, 2017SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
SOMALIA: SUSPECT SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER THE LATE MINISTER ABASS SIRAJ’S MURDER
The High Court of the Somali Armed Forces passed a verdict of death sentence this morning to one of the suspects for the murder of Abass Siraj, a former Federal Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction of Somalia.
- JUNE 19, 2017IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: NASHIK MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HONOUR KILLING CASE
In a landmark judgment related to "honour killing", the Nashik district sessions court sentenced a man to death for killing his pregnant daughter in 2013 because she had married outside their caste.
JUNE 18, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: ORUMIYEH’S FEMALE DEATH-ROW PRISONERS IN HORRIBLE CONDITIONS
Women imprisoned in the women’s ward of the Central Prison of Orumiyeh are detained in deplorable conditions in overcrowded cells lacking the least sanitary needs.
JUNE 18, 2017IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: PRESIDENT MUKHERJEE REJECTS 2 MORE MERCY PETITIONS; TOTAL 30
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has rejected two more mercy petitions filed by the convicts awarded death punishment.
- JUNE 16, 2017VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: EIGHT VIETNAMESE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING
Eight Vietnamese, including two women, received death sentence after a court in the northern province of Hoa Binh found them guilty of trafficking 541 packs of heroin, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported, citing the court verdict.
- JUNE 15, 2017OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. A jury sentenced Terry Froman to death
USA - Ohio. A jury sentenced Terry Froman to death
- JUNE 15, 2017IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR DOUBLE MURDER
A court in Rae Bareli (UP) awarded death sentence to a man for murdering a middle-aged couple in 2010.
- JUNE 14, 2017PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. A jury returned a verdict of death against Leeton Thomas.
USA - Pennsylvania. A jury returned a verdict of death against Leeton Thomas.