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 11, 2024CaliforniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - California. Susan Eubanks taken off death row
- OCTOBER 10, 2024MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF NAJIB’S FORMER BODYGUARD
Malaysia has commuted the death sentence of an ex-police guard of former premier Najib Razak, after the Southeast Asian country changed its law on capital punishment.
OCTOBER 9, 2024NevadaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Nevada. Robert Brown sentenced to death
1st death penalty verdict in Nevada in over 5 years
OCTOBER 8, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD
A local court in Sangareddy district of Telangana on September 12, 2024 awarded death sentence to a man for raping and murdering a five-year-old girl in October 2023.
OCTOBER 8, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - The regime has executed more than 250 people since Massoud Pezeshkian became president
The “No to Executions on Tuesdays” campaign entered its 37th week
OCTOBER 8, 2024SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: 18 OPPONENTS SENTENCED TO DEATH
In September, a court in Dongola sentenced 17 RSF fighters and one civilian to death for an attack on Merowe airport, Sudan Tribune reported on October 4, 2024.
OCTOBER 7, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: HIGH COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
The high court in Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, has commuted the death sentence awarded to Rajith, the prime convict in the 2013 murder case of a four-year-old girl in Chottanikkara, to life imprisonment, Times of India reported on September 14, 2
OCTOBER 5, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ashkan Yari executed in Hamedan on October 5
- OCTOBER 3, 2024MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN WHO KILLED MOTHER
The Putrajaya Court of Appeal on August 26, 2024 commuted the death sentence to 40 years in prison for a man who murdered his mother and dumped her body in a septic tank six years ago.
- OCTOBER 3, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE AND MURDER OF MINOR GIRL IN SAMBALPUR
A special POCSO court in Sambalpur on October 1st, 2024 sentenced a man to death for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Jamankira area of Sambalpur.
OCTOBER 2, 2024VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: EX-GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR THEFT
A Hanoi court sentenced the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology’s former chief accountant to death after Nguyen Hoang was convicted of embezzling more than 152 billion dong ($6.2 million), the Vietnam government’s website reported on September
- OCTOBER 1, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Ilam on October 1
Nima Moradi, Nosratollah Mnati, and Mehdi Khorsan
OCTOBER 1, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: ARUNACHAL SCHOOL HOSTEL WARDEN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 21 STUDENTS
A special court in Arunachal Pradesh handed the death sentence on September 26, 2024 to a hostel warden convicted for sexual assault of 21 students at a government-run residential school from 2014 to 2022.
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2024Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DR CONGO: MILITARY COURT SENTENCES 26 ARMED GROUP MEMBERS TO DEATH
A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on August 8, 2024 sentenced 26 people accused of involvement in armed groups, including the M23, to death after a high-profile trial that started late last month.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2024United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Rulings for 2 Death-Sentenced Prisoners Recognize Devastating Harm Caused by Solitary Confinement
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 4 GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING 3 RELATIVES OVER PROPERTY DISPUTE
A fast-track court (FTC) in Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh) has sentenced a 32-year-old man from Etawah to death for his involvement in the murder of his three relatives, including a couple in their early 50s and their minor son, in a 12-year-old property disput
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: SERIAL KILLER SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING
The South Cairo Criminal Court on September 12, 2024 sentenced an English teacher to death by hanging for torturing and killing three women earlier this year.
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2024PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY ON WHATSAPP
Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old Pakistani Christian woman, was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death under Article 295-C of the Penal Code for defaming the Prophet Muhammad through a message on the social media WhatsApp, Agenzia Fides reported on
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING, RAPING HANOI WOMAN
A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman who worked as an apartment manager in Hanoi.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HOUTHI-CONTROLLED GROUP
The owner of media companies Yemen Digital Media and Yemen Live for Media Production and Satellite Broadcasting, Taha Ahmed Rashid Al-Maamari, on September 24, 2024 was sentenced to death by a Houthi-controlled court
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SHANGLA COURT AWARDS DEATH TO FOUR IN MURDER CASE
Shangla District and sessions judge on September 21, 2024 handed down death sentence to four ‘contract killers’ and life imprisonment to five others for killing three brothers and their father over property dispute in Bagyar area of Puran in 2021.
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mohammad-Javad Vafaie Thani Sentenced to Death for the Third Time
After a Retrial
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024South CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - South Carolina. Freddie Owens, 46, Black, was executed
The state restarted executions after a 13-year pause
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Political Prisoners Behrooz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani Sentenced to Death
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Secret Execution of 4 men and 2 Women in Qazvin
In unspecified data, in August
SEPTEMBER 18, 2024PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR INSULTING PROPHET MUHAMMAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A Pakistan court awarded a death sentence to a man from the Punjab province for insulting the Prophet Muhammad on social media, a court official said on September 14, 2024.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2024FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Eriese Tisdale resentenced to death
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2024IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA FREES NIGERIAN ON DEATH ROW FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A Nigerian, Emmanuel Ihejirika, previously sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia, has been released after years in prison.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2024Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: MILITARY COURT SENTENCES 37 TO DEATH IN COUP TRIAL
A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sentenced to death 37 people, including three United States citizens, on charges of taking part in a failed coup in May.
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2024KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: EXPAT GUARD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING SCHOOL TEACHER
The Criminal Court in Kuwait has sentenced an expatriate, formerly a security guard at a school, to death for sexually assaulting a teacher from the same school, Al-Seyassah daily reported on August 25, 2024.