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
- NOVEMBER 18, 2011North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - North Carolina. A jury recommended that Danny Hembree, 49, white, should get the death penalty
USA - North Carolina. A jury recommended that Danny Hembree, 49, white, should get the death penalty
- NOVEMBER 17, 2011CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Judge Kathleen Kennedy sentenced James Fayed, 48, white, to death
USA - California. Judge Kathleen Kennedy sentenced James Fayed, 48, white, to death
- NOVEMBER 16, 2011KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
USA - Kentucky. Judge Geoffrey Morris formally sentenced Michael St. Clair, 54, white, to death
USA - Kentucky. Judge Geoffrey Morris formally sentenced Michael St. Clair, 54, white, to death
- NOVEMBER 16, 2011CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury sentenced Marco Topete, 39, Hispanic, to death
USA - California. A jury sentenced Marco Topete, 39, Hispanic, to death
NOVEMBER 12, 2011SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: PUNTLAND COURT SENTENCES TO DEATH AL SHABAAB LINKED MAN
a court in Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland sentenced a man found guilty
- NOVEMBER 11, 2011United StatesDEATH PENALTY
'INTO THE ABYSS' REVIEW: EMOTIONS ON DEATH ROW
"Into the Abyss", a Werner Herzog documentary about a killer on Death Row, opens
- NOVEMBER 11, 2011South SudanDEATH PENALTY
prisoners sentenced to death at Wau prison attempted to escape...
prisoners sentenced to death at Wau prison attempted to escape...
- NOVEMBER 10, 2011FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury has recommended a death sentence for Patrick Evans, 44, white
USA - Florida. A jury has recommended a death sentence for Patrick Evans, 44, white
NOVEMBER 7, 2011ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: BROTHERS, FATHER GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR FRAUD
two brothers and their father were sentenced to death for cheating 15,000 investors out
- NOVEMBER 4, 2011United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: FOUR WHO ESCAPED DEATH ROW RETURN HOME FROM SHARJAH
four of the seventeen Indian nationals sentenced to death in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates for murdering Pakistani national Misri Nazir Khan in 2009 arrived home following the payment of blood money.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2011IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: KERALA COURT AWARDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER
the Kochi CBI Special Court in India sentenced Jayanandan, 39, from Mala in Thrissur District, to death for the murder of Devaki, a 51-year-old housewife. Jayanandan allegedly attacked Devaki and her husband in Puthenvelikkara and robbed them of gold orna
- OCTOBER 31, 2011CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Judge James S. Hawkins sentenced David John Reed, 52, white, to death.
USA - California. Judge James S. Hawkins sentenced David John Reed, 52, white, to death.
- OCTOBER 29, 2011AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHAN POLICE OFFICERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING CIVILIANS
two Afghan border police officers were sentenced to death in Kandahar for killing six civilians accused of planting roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan, the provincial government said.
- OCTOBER 28, 2011MoroccoDEATH PENALTY
MOROCCO COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH
a Moroccan court sentenced Adil Othmani to death for masterminding a terrorist
- OCTOBER 28, 2011KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
USA - Kentucky. A Bullitt County jury has recommended a death sentence for Michael Dale St. Clair, 54, white
USA - Kentucky. A Bullitt County jury has recommended a death sentence for Michael Dale St. Clair, 54, white
- OCTOBER 28, 2011FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt sentenced Thomas Brown, 29, black, to death.
USA - Florida. Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt sentenced Thomas Brown, 29, black, to death.
- OCTOBER 27, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FIVE INDONESIAN MAIDS ON DEATH ROW
five Indonesian maids sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are appealing for clemency.
- OCTOBER 27, 2011FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced Cecil King, 41, black, to death
USA - Florida. Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced Cecil King, 41, black, to death
- OCTOBER 27, 2011South DakotaDEATH PENALTY
USA - South Dakota. Judge Bradley Zell sentenced Eric Robert, 49, white, to death.
USA - South Dakota. Judge Bradley Zell sentenced Eric Robert, 49, white, to death.
- OCTOBER 26, 2011CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Jason Russell Richardson, 40, white
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Jason Russell Richardson, 40, white
- OCTOBER 20, 2011FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A Duval county jury recommended the death penalty for Michael Mulugetta Yacob, 26, black
USA - Florida. A Duval county jury recommended the death penalty for Michael Mulugetta Yacob, 26, black
- OCTOBER 20, 2011AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Christopher Johnson, 38,white, was executed
USA - Alabama. Christopher Johnson, 38,white, was executed
- OCTOBER 20, 2011DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. A jury issued a death sentence for Joshua Kevin Drucker, 33, white
USA - Georgia. A jury issued a death sentence for Joshua Kevin Drucker, 33, white
OCTOBER 20, 2011UgandaDEATH PENALTYUGANDA: THREE CONVICTS ON DEATH ROW SURVIVE HANGMAN
in Uganda, Enoch Tumuwine, Abdu Maliyamungu and Walker Muhairwe had their death sentences
- OCTOBER 19, 2011PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. The Senate has approved SB 397 to determin whether a defendant in a death penalty case has an intellectual disability.
USA - Pennsylvania. The Senate has approved SB 397 to determine whether a defendant in a death penalty case has an intellectual disability.
- OCTOBER 14, 2011PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED DEATH SENTENCE
in Pakistan, an Additional district and sessions judge sentenced Muhammad Ramazan to death for murdering Muhammad Gulfam and wounding his father Aulia Khan on October 27, 2010, over a land dispute.
- OCTOBER 13, 2011KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: WOMAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR BURNING MAN TO DEATH
the Kuwaiti Court of Appeals sentenced an unidentified woman to death for burning an expatriate man to death.
- OCTOBER 12, 2011United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
in the United Arab Emirates, Emirati K.D.A., 22, was sentenced to death by the Fujairah Criminal Court for stabbing to death an Arab national following an argument during a wedding ceremony in June 2010.
- OCTOBER 12, 2011DEATH PENALTY
GAZA: MILITARY COURT ISSUES THREE DEATH SENTENCES
The Permanent Military Court in Gaza sentenced Bilal Saad al-Masri, 22, from Beit Lahia
OCTOBER 12, 2011KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
in Kenya, Justice Mohammed Warsame sentenced former police officer Dickson Mwangi Munene