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
OCTOBER 15, 2015EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: 10 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR FORMING TERRORIST GROUP
Ten Islamists were sentenced to death and 20 others to life in prison by an Egyptian court for establishing a
- OCTOBER 14, 2015DEATH PENALTY
ALABAMA (USA): ACTORS SUPPORT DEATH ROW INMATE WILLIAM KUENZEL
Law and Order actors Sam Waterston and Joanna Merlin, along with several religious leaders, come together to support a death row inmate whose story has captured the nation's attention.
- OCTOBER 14, 2015TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Judge Jack Skeen Jr. sentenced James Calvert, 45, White, to death
USA - Texas. Judge Jack Skeen Jr. sentenced James Calvert, 45, White, to death
- OCTOBER 14, 2015FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced Randall Deviney to death.
USA - Florida. Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced Randall Deviney to death.
OCTOBER 14, 2015Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: WELE SUDA SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HEROIN CASE
Notorious drug dealer Wele Suda was sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court for having drugs in
OCTOBER 13, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: EIGHT MORE DEATH ROW CONVICTS HANGED
At least eight death row convicts were sent to the gallows early in the morning in different jails of Punjab, Dunya News reported.
OCTOBER 12, 2015EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: COURT OVERTURNS 5 DEATH SENTENCES FOR KERDASA POLICE KILLINGS
The Court of Cassation overturned the convictions of five men who were sentenced to death for storming a
- OCTOBER 9, 2015FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury recommended Eriese Tisdale receive the death penalty
USA - Florida. A jury recommended Eriese Tisdale receive the death penalty
- OCTOBER 7, 2015TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Gabriel Hall, 22, Asian, to death
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Gabriel Hall, 22, Asian, to death
OCTOBER 6, 2015Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SECOND JUVENILE TO FACE ‘BEHEADING’ FOR PROTESTS
A second juvenile is facing beheading in Saudi Arabia after a court upheld his conviction for a role in
OCTOBER 5, 2015DEATH PENALTYUSA: SUPREME COURT IS STARTING A NEW TERM
The Supreme Court is starting a new term. The 9 justices are meeting in public Monday for the first hearing
OCTOBER 4, 2015JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: PRISONER DIES AFTER 46 YEARS ON DEATH ROW
Masaru Okunishi, a death-row inmate who was seeking a retrial over a 1961 wine poisoning case, died at the Hachioji medical prison in western Tokyo. He was 89.
OCTOBER 3, 2015EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: DEATH PENALTY, LIFE IN PRISON FOR 4 OVER ARSON
Two were sentenced to death, two others to life in prison and a minor to a 10-year jail term for sabotage.
- OCTOBER 1, 2015DEATH PENALTY
VIRGINIA (USA): ALFREDO PRIETO EXECUTED AFTER LAST-MINUTE APPEALS, INCLUDING POPE FRANCIS’S, FAILED
Alfredo Prieto was executed today after a series of last-minute appeals failed.
- OCTOBER 1, 2015VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. Alfredo Prieto was executed today after a series of last-minute appeals, including Pope Francis’s, failed.
USA - Virginia. Alfredo Prieto was executed today after a series of last-minute appeals, including Pope Francis’s, failed.
- OCTOBER 1, 2015EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: 16 JIHADISTS CONDEMNED TO DEATH FOR KILLING POLICE
An Egyptian court sentenced 16 jihadists to death in a retrial on charges of killing 25 policemen in the Sinai
OCTOBER 1, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: TWO DEATH ROW CONVICTS HANGED IN FAISALABAD
Two death row convicts were hanged in the Central Jail of Faisalabad. Shoukat and Ikhlaq had killed two
- OCTOBER 1, 2015OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the death sentence of Bennie Adams is invalid
USA - Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the death sentence of Bennie Adams is invalid
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2015MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: IRANIAN WOMAN, MOTHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
An Iranian woman and her mother were sentenced to death by the High Court in Malaysia for trafficking in
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2015KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA: FOUR WHO SHOT AND KILLED UHURU KIN SENTENCED TO DEATH
Four men who shot and killed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s relative have been sentenced to death.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN COURT DELAYS PARAPLEGIC'S EXECUTION
A Pakistan court has postponed the execution of a paraplegic prisoner, after human rights groups voiced concerns that his hanging would constitute "cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment."
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCES FOR NINE MILITANTS LINKED TO TERRORIST ATTACKS
Pakistan's army announced the death penalty for nine hardline militants linked to a series of terrorist attacks
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR PML-N LEADER’S MURDER
An anti-terrorism court awarded death sentence on two counts to two suspects and imprisonment to two
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2015CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury sentenced Luis Jesus Rodriguez to death
USA - California. A jury sentenced Luis Jesus Rodriguez to death
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2015JordanDEATH PENALTY
JORDAN: CASSATION COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN FOR KILLING BROTHER-IN-LAW
The Cassation Court in Jordan has upheld a September 2013 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2015LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. A new study reports stark disparities in Louisiana death sentences and executions depending upon race
USA - Louisiana. A new study reports stark disparities in Louisiana death sentences and executions depending upon race
SEPTEMBER 19, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: NO MERCY FOR MEN ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY
A division bench of the Lahore High Court has dismissed appeals of two brothers accused of blasphemy
SEPTEMBER 16, 2015PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: THREE MURDER CONVICTS HANGED IN DIFFERENT JAILS, ANOTHER ESCAPES THE NOOSE
Three death-row prisoners convicted of murder were executed in Pakistan in different jails and another escaped the noose.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2015KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A man who killed a relative of Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua during a robbery in Nairobi has been
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: 8 BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Egypt's Minya Criminal Court handed down a death sentence in absentia to eight members of the outlawed