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
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008DEATH PENALTY
IRAN. TWO MINORS SENTENCED TO DEATH
two young men were sentenced to death in Iran for crimes they allegedly committed as minors.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: DOMESTIC HELP GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERING EMPLOYERS
in India, a Calcutta city court sentenced a domestic help to death for murdering his employer and his wife in 2005.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008DEATH PENALTY
USA. SUPREME COURT ISSUES STAY OF EXECUTION FOR DAVIS
the US Supreme Court granted a last minute reprieve to a Georgia man, less than than two hours before his scheduled execution for the 1989 slaying of an off-duty police officer.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. ANOTHER JUVENILE ON DEATH ROW
in Iran, a young man identified as Mahyear was sentenced to death for a crime he allegedly committed when 17, the state-run daily Kargozaran reported
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. DEATH PENALTY FOR MAN ACCUSED OF HOMOSEXUALITY
Nemat Safavi, arrested almost three years ago at the age of 16, was condemned to death by a court in Ardebil, in the northwest Iranian Azerbaijan region.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. Supreme Court issues stay of execution for Davis
USA - Georgia. Supreme Court issues stay of execution for Davis
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. Serial killer Ronald Dominique suspected of killing as many as 23 men pleaded guilty today to 8 counts of 1st-degree murder in a deal to avoid the death penalty.
USA - Louisiana. Serial killer Ronald Dominique suspected of killing as many as 23 men pleaded guilty today to 8 counts of 1st-degree murder in a deal to avoid the death penalty.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2008BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: FOUR TO GO TO GALLOWS IN MURDER CASE IN BHOLA
a special tribunal in Bhola, Bangladesh, sentenced four people to death for killing a housewife.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2008IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: MAN CONDEMNED TO DEATH CAPTURED IN WASSIT
policemen captured a man wanted by security authorities who was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Kut city, Iraq, a security source in Wassit said.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DALIT MURDER IN BARABANKI
a fast track court in Barabanki, India...
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2008MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. MAN SETENCED TO HANG FOR MURDER, TWO FRIENDS FREED
the High Court of Malaysia sentenced a self-employed man to hang after finding him guilty of murdering a blacksmith, but freed two of his friends of the same charge.
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2008MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA: TWO INDONESIANS, MALAYSIAN GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG DEALING
an Indonesian district court sentenced two Indonesians and a Malaysian to death for illegally distributing ecstasy pills in the country, media reports said.
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2008CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Serial killer William Jennings Choyce was sentenced to death for killing three women.
USA - California. Serial killer William Jennings Choyce was sentenced to death for killing three women.
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. SC UPHOLDS ACQUITTAL OF MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India, upheld the acquittal of a man sentenced to death by a sessions court for allegedly murdering a minor girl after she resisted his attempt to rape her.
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA COURT UPHOLDS SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE OF FORMER BROKERAGE EXECUTIVE
the Higher People's Court in south China's Hainan Province upheld the suspended death sentence against a former executive of a trust and investment company who pocketed a large amount of money from public funds, a court spokesman said.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR 'EXORCIST' OVER DEATHS OF 6
the Supreme Court in Tokyo, Japan, upheld rulings by lower courts that sentenced a self claimed exorcist to death for the deaths of six followers, tossing out her not-guilty appeal.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2008PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: POLICEMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH
a policeman was sentenced to death for killing his friend by District and Session Judge in Quetta, Pakistan.
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2008United NationsDEATH PENALTY
DEATH PENALTY: BAN KI-MOON'S REPORT RELEASED
Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, released a report on the death penalty. It was one of the provisions of the Resolution on the moratorium on capital punishment, approved by the General Assembly in December 2007, asking the Secreta
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2008KansasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Kansas. A jury recommended the death penalty for Gary Kleypas
USA - Kansas. A jury recommended the death penalty for Gary Kleypas
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA POLICE KILLER APPEALS AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
Yang Jia, the jobless Beijing man who intruded into Shanghai police bureau and killed six officers, has appealed against the death penalty handed down earlier by a Shanghai court.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2008DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. The state Board of Pardons and Paroles today refused to grant clemency to Troy Anthony Davis
USA - Georgia. The state Board of Pardons and Paroles today refused to grant clemency to Troy Anthony Davis
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2008JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN EXECUTES THREE MEN FOR MURDERS
Japan hanged three death-row inmates, officials said, bringing the number of executions this year to 13
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2008BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: TWO AWARDED DEATH SENTENCE IN CTG FOR MURDER
a special court in Chittagong, Bangladesh, found a young man and one of his accomplices guilty of killing his wife after rape nine years ago and sentenced them to death.
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2008VietnamDEATH PENALTY
a court in Hanoi sentenced three men to death for trafficking heroin...
a court in Hanoi sentenced three men to death for trafficking heroin...
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2008LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. District Judge Todd Hernandez followed a jury's April 17 recommendation that Anthony Bell be executed
USA - Louisiana. District Judge Todd Hernandez followed a jury's April 17 recommendation that Anthony Bell be executed
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2008CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Smith took up an Aug. 13 (see) jury recommendation, and sentenced Luis Mendoza and Lorenzo Inez Arias to death
USA - California. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Smith took up an Aug. 13 (see) jury recommendation, and sentenced Luis Mendoza and Lorenzo Inez Arias to death
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: EX-CONVICTS GET DEATH PENALTY FOR RUNNING MAFIA-STYLE CRIME RING
two brothers from a south Chinese city were given the death penalty for crimes including operating an organized crime ring and causing two deaths.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2008BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING IN FENI
a court in Feni, Bangladesh, sentenced two people to death and another to three years rigorous imprisonment for killing a young woman after raping her in 1998.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2008BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: MAN GETS DEATH FOR RAPE AND MURDER
a sessions court in Siwan, Bangladesh, awarded the death sentence to a man in a four-year-old rape and murder case.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Mullahs' Regime in Iran sentenced two prisoners, a man and a woman named Mojtaba and Fatemeh, to death, the state-run Khorasan reported.