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 24, 2011ThailandDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: FOUR FRIENDS GET THE GALLOWS FOR TRAFFICKING CANNABIS
four friends were sentenced to death by Judicial Commissioner Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab of the
- JULY 22, 2011PakistanDEATH PENALTY
MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING DAUGHTER IN PAKISTAN
in Pakistan, Additional District and Sessions Judge Tahir Khan Niazi sentenced Khalid Ameen, a Baghbanpuraa resident, to death for raping his 15-year-old daughter continuously for one month before May 18, 2008. Parveen, Ameen's wife, registered an inciden
- JULY 22, 2011DelawareDEATH PENALTY
USA - Delaware. Judge Richard F. Stokes formally sentenced Leslie D. Small, 52, black, to death.
USA - Delaware. Judge Richard F. Stokes formally sentenced Leslie D. Small, 52, black, to death.
- JULY 21, 2011DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. Andrew DeYoung, 37, white, was executed, and his lethal injection was filmed in compliance with a court order
USA - Georgia. Andrew DeYoung, 37, white, was executed, and his lethal injection was filmed in compliance with a court order
- JULY 20, 2011ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
ZIMBABWE: DEATH PENALTY FOR MAN WHO THREW BODY ON HIGHWAY
Lython Mathe, 30, was sentenced to death by hanging by Bulawayo High Court judge Lawrence Kamocha, on circuit in Hwange, Zimbabwe.
- JULY 20, 2011PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: DEATH FOR KILLING IMPERIAL CINEMA OWNER
in Lahore, Pakistan, Additional District and Sessions Judge Shahzad Kayani sentenced brothers Ali and Nadeem Abbas to death for killing Nasim Sharif, over her ownership of the Imperial Cinema.
JULY 20, 2011IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: FOUR PEOPLE HANGED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A total of four people charged with drug trafficking have been hanged in Rafsanjan and Jiroft prisons (both located in the Kerman province, southeastern Iran), according to a report by the Iranian state-run media news agency ISNA.
- JULY 19, 2011KenyaDEATH PENALTY
70-YEAR-OLD KENYAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ROBBERY
at a Kenyan court, Magistrate Esther Boke sentenced Kuria Kihunyu...
- JULY 16, 2011CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Jawaun Deion Graham, 35, black
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Jawaun Deion Graham, 35, black
- JULY 15, 2011IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING COLLEAGUES
second additional and sessions judge Manishankar Diwedi sentenced Sambhunath Lohar to death for killing his colleagues Biswanath Bagdi, 42, and Mohan Das, 47, in an oil mill in Sainthia, in India's Birbhum district, on September 10, 2010.
- JULY 13, 2011United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - The Leal Case. The Washington Post: Congress should act before another foreign national is denied consular access
USA - The Leal Case. The Washington Post: Congress should act before another foreign national is denied consular access
- JULY 12, 2011VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. Possible Innocence - Judge Raymond A. Jackson overturned the murder conviction and death sentence of Justin Wolfe, 30, white
USA - Virginia. Possible Innocence - Judge Raymond A. Jackson overturned the murder conviction and death sentence of Justin Wolfe, 30, white
- JULY 10, 2011ChadDEATH PENALTY
UN URGES SENEGAL NOT TO EXTRADITE EX-CHAD LEADER
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay urged Senegal to reconsider its decision to send Chad's former
- JULY 8, 2011DEATH PENALTY
U.S. BROKE INTERNATIONAL LAW BY EXECUTING MEXICAN NATIONAL, SAYS U.N.
The United States breached international law by executing a Mexican national without having
- JULY 7, 2011United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Humberto Leal, 38, hispanic, was executed despite Obama's pressures
USA - Texas. Humberto Leal, 38, hispanic, was executed despite Obama's pressures
- JULY 3, 2011IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN 'ANNULS DEATH TERM' FOR CHRISTIAN PASTOR
Iran's supreme court has overturned a death sentence handed down to Yusef Nadarkhani
- JULY 1, 2011ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: CHINA SENTENCES FILIPINA TO DEATH FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
an unidentified Filipina teacher was sentenced to death
JULY 1, 2011DEATH PENALTYUSA: OBAMA CALLS FOR HALT TO TEXAS EXECUTION
The Obama administration took the unusual step today of asking the Supreme Court to stop Texas from
- JULY 1, 2011AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Judge Michael Youngpeter sentenced Aubrey Lynn Shaw, 36, white, to death.
USA - Alabama. Judge Michael Youngpeter sentenced Aubrey Lynn Shaw, 36, white, to death.
- JULY 1, 2011MississippiDEATH PENALTY
USA - Mississippi. Former Death Row Inmate Cory Maye To Be Released From Prison
USA - Mississippi. Former Death Row Inmate Cory Maye To Be Released From Prison
JUNE 30, 2011JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: MAN TO HANG FOR KILLING WOMAN, 21
Tatsumi Tateyama, 50, was sentenced to death by Presiding Judge Masanori Hatoko of the
- JUNE 29, 2011LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. Judge Ramona Emmanuel sentenced Lamondre Tucker, 21, black, to death
USA - Louisiana. Judge Ramona Emmanuel sentenced Lamondre Tucker, 21, black, to death
- JUNE 28, 2011PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. A jury sentenced Richard Poplawski, 24, white, to death
USA - Pennsylvania. A jury sentenced Richard Poplawski, 24, white, to death
- JUNE 28, 2011NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: EDO PROPOSES DEATH PENALTY FOR KIDNAPPERS
kidnappers may face the death penalty in Edo State
- JUNE 28, 2011TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced John Hummel, 35, white, to death
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced John Hummel, 35, white, to death
JUNE 27, 2011MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: RESOLUTION OVER MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
A resolution calling for an immediate moratorium on the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia
JUNE 26, 2011EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: POLICEMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING PROTESTERS DURING UPRISING
A Cairo court sentenced in absentia a policeman to death for the murder of protesters during
- JUNE 25, 2011PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN GETS DEATH FOR MOLESTING, KILLING BOY
in Chakwal, Pakistan, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Asghar Khan sentenced Mohammad Yaqub, a resident of Dera Ghazi Khan
- JUNE 24, 2011ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: 7 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
the Intermediate People's Court in Changzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province
JUNE 24, 2011IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 4 MAOISTS GET DEATH FOR J'KHAND MASSACRE
judge Indradeo Mishra of the Giridih additional district and sessions court in India