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
- AUGUST 26, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: TWO MAOISTS SENTENCED TO DEATH
a local court awarded the death sentence to two Maoists in Chatra district, India.
- AUGUST 24, 2009BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: BANGABANDHU MURDER CASE APPEAL TO BEGIN OCT 5
the hearing on the long-pending appeals of five former army officers sentenced to death in the August 15, 1975, Bangabandhu murder case will begin at the Bangladesh Supreme Court on October 5.
- AUGUST 21, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: COURT ORDERS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO TWO
a court sentenced Naresh Harijan and Ram Harijan to death for a murder in Bihar's Banka district in India
- AUGUST 21, 2009TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A Dallas County jury this morning sentenced James Broadnax to die
USA - Texas. A Dallas County jury this morning sentenced James Broadnax to die
AUGUST 21, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: EX-MAYOR SENTENCED TO DEATH
the former mayor of Chifeng, in northern China, was sentenced to death and fined 100,000 yuan for taking bribes from developers.
AUGUST 21, 2009VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING CREDITOR
in Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Chau Hung Son, 49, to death for killing his
- AUGUST 21, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced Eric Rodriguez to death
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced Eric Rodriguez to death
- AUGUST 20, 2009ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Arizona. A Maricopa County Superior Court jury today sentenced Rodney Hardy twice to death
USA - Arizona. A Maricopa County Superior Court jury today sentenced Rodney Hardy twice to death
- AUGUST 19, 2009IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN HALTS EXECUTION OF SEVEN PEOPLE
Iran's stayed the executions of seven people, including a man who was sentenced for a murder committed when he was a minor.
- AUGUST 18, 2009IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: MAN TO BE EXECUTED FOR MURDER COMMITTED AS MINOR
an Iranian man, convicted of murder at the age of 16, is expected to be executed in Tehran, according to the Iran Human Rights group.
- AUGUST 17, 2009TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A Randall County jury sentenced Brent Ray Brewer, 39, to death
USA - Texas. A Randall County jury sentenced Brent Ray Brewer, 39, to death
- AUGUST 14, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CENTRAL CHINA COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR CORRUPT OFFICIALS
the Higher People's Court of Hunan Province in China rejected the appeals of two men against their death sentences, local officials said. Li Dalun, 59, former secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Chenzhou Municipal Committee, was sentenced to death
- AUGUST 14, 2009AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. A Jefferson County jury recommended execution for Steven Petric
USA - Alabama. A Jefferson County jury recommended execution for Steven Petric
- AUGUST 14, 2009LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. Judge Carl Sharp sentenced Lee Roy Odenbaugh Jr. to death
USA - Louisiana. Judge Carl Sharp sentenced Lee Roy Odenbaugh Jr. to death
- AUGUST 14, 2009ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Arizona. A jury sentenced Benjamin Cota to death
USA - Arizona. A jury sentenced Benjamin Cota to death
- AUGUST 13, 2009BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: HUSBAND GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING WIFE IN NILPHAMARI
a husband was sentenced to death and fined Taka 5,000 for killing his wife over a dowry in the Nilphamari district of Bangladesh.
- AUGUST 12, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: ON DEATH ROW SINCE 1991, HE WAITS FOR HANGMAN
Piara Singh, 80, cannot walk or see and his dementia gets worse by the day. Piara, a murder convict sentenced to death in 1996, has been languishing in Amritsar jail since 1991, mostly in solitary confinement, with neither death nor mercy rescuing him fro
- AUGUST 11, 2009MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: OFFICE ASSISTANT GETS DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
a 56-year-old real estate agency office assistant was sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking.
- AUGUST 11, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Anthony Dent
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Anthony Dent
- AUGUST 10, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A Brevard County jury has recommended death for Justin Heyne
USA - Florida. A Brevard County jury has recommended death for Justin Heyne
- AUGUST 7, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A Los Angeles County jury today voted for the death penalty for Miguel Angel Magallon
USA - California. A Los Angeles County jury today voted for the death penalty for Miguel Angel Magallon
- AUGUST 7, 2009AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Circuit Judge John Bush overruled the jury's recommendation and sentenced Calvin McMillan to the death penalty.
USA - Alabama. Circuit Judge John Bush overruled the jury's recommendation and sentenced Calvin McMillan to the death penalty.
- AUGUST 6, 2009Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: SIX MYANMARS TO HANG FOR MURDER
six Myanmar nationals were sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for murdering their fellow countryman on June 26, 2005.
- AUGUST 5, 2009South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
SOUTH KOREA: DEATH PENALTY FOR SERIAL KILLINGS CONFIRMED
a man convicted of murdering 10 women in South Korea dropped his appeal, court officials said, making his death sentence final.
- AUGUST 5, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: TWO EXECUTED FOR DEFRAUDING PUBLIC OF HUGE AMOUNTS
two people were executed for fraud after China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) approved their sentences. The Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou in southeast Zhejiang Province sentenced Si Chaxian to death.
- AUGUST 5, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: DEATH SENTENCES FOR MURDER
Sadi Ahmad, a resident of Chak, and Mahboob Shah were sentenced to death by the Anti Terrorism Court in Faisalabad, Pakistan, for a murder committed under the Sadar Police Station on August 1, 2007.
- AUGUST 5, 2009AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. A Franklin County judge has ordered a death sentence for Christie Michelle Scott
USA - Alabama. A Franklin County judge has ordered a death sentence for Christie Michelle Scott
- AUGUST 3, 2009PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: FILIPINO COUPLE'S DEATH PENALTY UPHELD
the appeal by a Filipino couple sentenced to death in Malaysia on April 27, 2008, was unanimously rejected by the Kota Kinabalu Court of Appeal.
- AUGUST 2, 2009United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: COURT TO REVIEW MAN'S DEATH SENTENCE
the Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is again reviewing the case of a Pakistani on death row for killing a young Emirati woman in Sharjah.
- JULY 31, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: HAYAKAWA'S DEATH SENTENCE FINAL
the Japanese Supreme Court finalised the death sentence of a former member of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult after rejecting his appeal, sources said.