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
- MAY 17, 2009BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH, ANOTHER GIVEN LIFE TERM IN SYLHET
a court in Sylhet, Bangladesh, sentenced a man to death and another to life term imprisonment in a drug case
- MAY 15, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: TWO CONVICTED OF MURDER GET DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED
two young Asians who were sentenced to death by a lower court in Qatar for murdering an acquaintance in 2006 had their sentence commuted by a higher court to varying jail terms
- MAY 14, 2009AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. A Morgan County jury today acquitted Daniel Wade Moore, 34, white, of all charges.
USA - Alabama. A Morgan County jury today acquitted Daniel Wade Moore, 34, white, of all charges.
- MAY 14, 2009MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: HOUSEWIFE SENT TO THE GALLOWS FOR HUSBAND'S DEATH
a housewife and her cousin were sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court after they were found guilty of murdering her husband in 2004.
- MAY 14, 2009North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - North Carolina. The Senate gave its final approval today to legislation that seeks to prevent racial bias in death penalty cases
USA - North Carolina. The Senate gave its final approval today to legislation that seeks to prevent racial bias in death penalty cases
- MAY 14, 2009TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
USA - Tennessee. A Shelby County jury has sentenced Henry Lee Jones to death
USA - Tennessee. A Shelby County jury has sentenced Henry Lee Jones to death
- MAY 13, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Judge Daniel Hurley followed a jury's recommendation today, and sentenced Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez to death
USA - Florida. Judge Daniel Hurley followed a jury's recommendation today, and sentenced Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez to death
- MAY 13, 2009FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Circuit Judge Marlene Alva sentenced David Byron Russ to death
USA - Florida. Circuit Judge Marlene Alva sentenced David Byron Russ to death
- MAY 12, 2009TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
USA - Tennessee. Paul House has been cleared of murder. He is exoneree n° 132
USA - Tennessee. Paul House has been cleared of murder. He is exoneree n° 132
- MAY 12, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN GETS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER
in Pakistan, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mehr Tahir Nawaz sentenced Ilyas, of chak 71-JBalong, to death.
- MAY 12, 2009South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
SOUTH KOREAN MAN GETS DEATH FOR STABBING SPREE
a South Korean court sentenced a man to death for killing six people in a stabbing spree in 2008, according to Seoul Central District Court spokesman Kwon Tae-hyung.
MAY 12, 2009MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: FORMER COP SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
in Kuantan, Malaysia, a former policeman was sentenced to death after he was
- MAY 10, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE TO 10 YEARS JAIL
an unidentified man facing death in Qatar for murdering his friend had his sentence commuted to 10 years
- MAY 9, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: HC COMMUTES LIFE SENTENCE
a man sentenced to death for killing his wife and three children had his sentence commuted by the Delhi High Court in India
- MAY 8, 2009DEATH PENALTY
SOUTH CAROLINA (USA): MAN EXECUTED FOR POLICE MURDER
An Alabama man convicted of killing a police officer was executed in South Carolina.
- MAY 8, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED DEATH SENTENCE
Additional District and Sessions Judge Rana Masood Akhtar awarded the death sentence to a murder accused and imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on him.
- MAY 7, 2009BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: 3 SIBLINGS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER IN CHUADANGA
three siblings were sentenced to death in absentia for the abduction and murder of a co-villager on December 25, 2005, at Jibonnagar in Chuadanga, Bangladesh.
- MAY 7, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE OFFICIAL'S DRIVER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR US$38 MLN FRAUD
an official's driver in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for defrauding investors of 263 million yuan (US$38 million).
- MAY 7, 2009AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
22 members of an armed group were sentenced to death in absentia...
22 members of an armed group were sentenced to death in absentia...
MAY 7, 2009Hong Kong SAR ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN GETS DEATH FOR DRUG OFFENCES
Hong Kong national Yuen Wai-ming was sentenced to death by the Shenzhen
- MAY 6, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN GETS DEATH FOR DOUBLE MURDER
a 27-year-old man was sentenced to death in India by additional sessions judge AM Tamboli for robbing and murdering his senior citizen employers
- MAY 6, 2009ThailandDEATH PENALTY
THAILAND: WOMAN WHO HAD HUSBAND KILLED GETS DEATH
the Thai Criminal Court sentenced a woman, Khai Suksamphan, to death for purchasing a life insurance policy for her husband Sawaeng Boonmee, a 56-year-old foreman, and then hiring four men to kill him.
- MAY 6, 2009UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA: AMUKA MILITIAMEN TO HANG OVER MURDER
the High Court in Lira district, Uganda, sentenced two former Amuka militiamen to death by hanging for killing 10 internally displaced persons.
- MAY 5, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: SHC ACQUITS TWO IN SHERATON HOTEL BLAST CASE
the Sindh High Court (SHC) in Pakistan acquitted two men charged with a bomb blast outside the Karachi Sheraton Hotel in May 2002 that killed several people
MAY 5, 2009AlgeriaDEATH PENALTYALGERIA: 14 MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TERRORISM
fourteen men were sentenced to death in absentia for terrorism by Algerian authorities,
- MAY 3, 2009EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER OF WIFE, SON AND DAUGHTER
the Cairo Criminal Court in Egypt sentenced Sherif Kamal Al-Din to death. He
- MAY 2, 2009ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: HIT MEN TO DIE FOR KILLING ADVISER
two men were sentenced to death for assassinating a top political adviser in Lianjiang city, Guangdong, China, over what police said was the official's failure to hold up his end of a bribery deal.
- MAY 2, 2009PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: PAK DEATH ROW PRISONER SEEKS HELP FROM BILAWAL
the legal team for a Pakistani death row prisoner wrote an open letter to ruling PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, asking him to help commute the death sentence into life imprisonment.
- MAY 1, 2009CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Judge Frank Fasel sentenced John Fitzgerald Kennedy to death
USA - California. Judge Frank Fasel sentenced John Fitzgerald Kennedy to death
- MAY 1, 2009IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF GIRL, 4
in Madanapalle, India, Second Additional District magistrate Ganesh Babu sentenced Golla Appaiah, 34, to death for raping and murdering a minor girl on August 29, 2007