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 5, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury sentenced Edward Wycoff to death
USA - California. A jury sentenced Edward Wycoff to death
- NOVEMBER 3, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: EXECUTION PUT ON HOLD
the execution of a 21-year-old man for raping two young boys earlier and abandoned one of them to die in the desert in Hail, Saudi Arabia, was postponed.
- NOVEMBER 3, 2009Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
the Higher Military Court in Gaza sentenced Mohammed Ibrahim Isma’il “al-Sab’a”, 36, from Rafah, to
the Higher Military Court in Gaza sentenced Mohammed Ibrahim Isma’il “al-Sab’a”, 36, from Rafah, to
NOVEMBER 2, 2009IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING HEAD OF SADDAM’S TRIBE
five men were sentenced to death in Iraq for murdering the head of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni tribe, the
- OCTOBER 30, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury recommended death for Matthew Caylor
USA - Florida. A jury recommended death for Matthew Caylor
- OCTOBER 30, 2009TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
USA - Tennessee. A jury sentenced Lemaricus Davidson to death
USA - Tennessee. A jury sentenced Lemaricus Davidson to death
- OCTOBER 29, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MOTHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING STEPDAUGHTER
a Saudi Arabian woman was sentenced to death for torturing and killing her seven-year-old stepdaughter.
- OCTOBER 29, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury recommended the death sentence for Santiago Martinez Jr.
USA - California. A jury recommended the death sentence for Santiago Martinez Jr.
- OCTOBER 29, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury has recommended the death sentence for Enoch Hall
USA - Florida. A jury has recommended the death sentence for Enoch Hall
- OCTOBER 29, 2009OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Oklahoma. Judge Richard Van Dyck sentenced Ronson Kyle Bush to death
USA - Oklahoma. Judge Richard Van Dyck sentenced Ronson Kyle Bush to death
- OCTOBER 29, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Judge Frank Fasel sentenced Billy Joe Johnson to death
USA - California. Judge Frank Fasel sentenced Billy Joe Johnson to death
- OCTOBER 29, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Judge Kim Hammond sentenced David Snelgrove to death
USA - Florida. Judge Kim Hammond sentenced David Snelgrove to death
- OCTOBER 28, 2009MaliDEATH PENALTY
Yaya Bagayoko was sentenced to death in Mali.
Yaya Bagayoko was sentenced to death in Mali.
- OCTOBER 28, 2009MaliDEATH PENALTY
two men were sentenced to death in Mali
two men were sentenced to death in Mali
OCTOBER 27, 2009YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: DEATH SENTENCES FOR FIGHTERS
a Yemini court sentenced four al-Houthi rebel fighters to death for their role in clashes against the military at
- OCTOBER 23, 2009MissouriDEATH PENALTY
USA - Missouri. A St. Louis County jury is recommending Gregory Bowman be put to death
USA - Missouri. A St. Louis County jury is recommending Gregory Bowman be put to death
- OCTOBER 22, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: TWO GET DEATH PENALTY
the Gujranwala District and Sessions Court in Pakistan sentenced two men to death in different murder cases.
- OCTOBER 21, 2009United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH ATTEMPTS SUICIDE IN CUSTODY SALAH AL DEBERKY
an Emirati woman, 47, sentenced to death for drug trafficking attempted suicide in jail, police sources said.
- OCTOBER 20, 2009ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY-BELARUS: RADICALS- DEATH SENTENCE TEST CASE OF THE ‘GOOD RELATIONS’ BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
together with other elected Radical parliamentarians from the Democratic Party list, Elisabetta Zamparutti presented an urgent parliamentary question to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs regarding the case of Vasil Yuzepchuk.
- OCTOBER 20, 2009OmanDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: MAN GETS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
an 18-year-old Omani national was sentenced to death by a court in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, for drug possession and peddling. Posing as buyers, the Anti-Narcotics Department of the Eastern Region Police struck a deal for Dh35,000 and on May 29, 200
- OCTOBER 20, 2009YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMENI REBELS GET DEATH PENALTY
ten Shia rebels were sentenced to death in Yemen for involvement in clashes with the army.
- OCTOBER 20, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Fu Chengli, 23, was sentenced to death with a two year reprieve...
Fu Chengli, 23, was sentenced to death with a two year reprieve...
- OCTOBER 20, 2009MaliDEATH PENALTY
farmer Gaoussou Diallo was sentenced to death in Mali for murdering...
farmer Gaoussou Diallo was sentenced to death in Mali for murdering...
- OCTOBER 19, 2009LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. A St. Tammany Parish jury unanimously sentenced James "Jamie" Magee to death
USA - Louisiana. A St. Tammany Parish jury unanimously sentenced James "Jamie" Magee to death
- OCTOBER 16, 2009Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
MYANMAR: TWO 'CHILD SOLDIERS' GET DEATH SENTENCES
Two child soldiers in Burma have been put on death row after being accused of killing another child soldier during a fight, the family of one of the defendants said.
OCTOBER 16, 2009ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR EX-DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF
Thailand's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of former deputy police
- OCTOBER 16, 2009AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. A jury has recommended ‘death by lethal injection' for Kevin Andre Towles
USA - Alabama. A jury has recommended ‘death by lethal injection' for Kevin Andre Towles
OCTOBER 15, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: SIX MORE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER CLASHES IN XINJIANG
China sentenced six more people to death over bloody ethnic unrest in its far-western Xinjiang region in July, bringing the total to 12.
- OCTOBER 13, 2009Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
CONGO: NORWEGIANS APPEAL DRC DEATH PENALTY
two Norwegians sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September began an appeal against the sentence, judicial sources said.
- OCTOBER 12, 2009BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS. DEATH CONVICT YUZEPCHUK HAS SOME HOPE AGAIN
the UN Human Rights Committee registered the individual address of Vasil Yuzepchuk, sentenced to death