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
- JUNE 12, 2006IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MINOR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a 17 year old boy was sentenced to death in Iran for murder, according to the daily ‘Etemad’.
- JUNE 7, 2006PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
QATAR. FILIPINO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING COMPATRIOT
a Qatari judge sentenced a Filipino worker to death for the 2004 knife slaying of a compatriot in Doha.
- JUNE 6, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
when Liu Zhixiang was given a suspended death sentence in April 2006...
when Liu Zhixiang was given a suspended death sentence in April 2006...
- MAY 31, 2006North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED NATIONS. UN RIGHTS EXPERTS URGE N KOREA TO SUSPEND TREASON EXECUTION
a group of UN rights experts called on North Korea to suspend the scheduled execution of Son Jong Nam for alleged treason, saying he was reportedly tortured and sentenced to death without a trial.
- MAY 31, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING PIMP
Deng Jianping was sentenced to death with a reprieve of two years by the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court for manslaughter.
- MAY 31, 2006EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STARTING FIRE
Egypt’s Upper Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Moti Mohamed to death after finding him guilty of setting fire to a shop in the Musherib area of Doha in August 2004, resulting in one death.
- MAY 30, 2006ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
ZIMBABWE. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR FARMER MURDER
Munetsi Kadzinga, 31, convicted of murdering farmer Charles Anderson in 2002, was sentenced to death by the Zimbabwe High Court.
- MAY 30, 2006AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
ALGERIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TERRORIST ACTIVITIES
the Chlef criminal court, Algeria, sentenced to death Bechairi Khalifa, known as Ould Labane, after convicting him of terrorist related activities.
- MAY 25, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a court in New Delhi sentenced to death Jameel Ahmed and Dilshad for murder. The two, both from India’s Uttar Pradesh state were found guilty of killing Gyani Ram after suspecting him of having an affair with Jameel’s wife.
- MAY 25, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
a special tribunal, in Bangladesh, condemned two young men to death for killing a minor girl after rape.
a special tribunal, in Bangladesh, condemned two young men to death for killing a minor girl after rape.
- MAY 23, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN EXECUTED FOR CHILD KILLINGS
convicted paedophile Chen Qiangsheng, 35, was executed in Huanggang in China’s Hubei Province for kidnapping six boys in 2005 and killing four of them.
- MAY 23, 2006MissouriDEATH PENALTY
the federal jury that found Robert Bolden Senior guilty of murdering...
the federal jury that found Robert Bolden Senior guilty of murdering...
- MAY 23, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. SIX PIRATES SENTENCED TO DEATH
six pirates were sentenced to death by the district and sessions court in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, for the murder of two crew members of a sand carrying trawler that was hijacked from the Buriganga River.
- MAY 23, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. VIOLENCE USED TO GET CONFESSIONS FROM CONVICTS: LAWYER
a defence lawyer accused Pakistani police of using violence and threats to extract confessions from seven men convicted in the 2004 assassination attempt against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
- MAY 22, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. 4 MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BID TO KILL PM
an anti-terrorism court in Pakistani sentenced four Islamist militants to death for an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
- MAY 21, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a court in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, sentenced to death Humayun, 35, and Jasim, 32, and sentenced two others to life-term imprisonment after convicting them of murder.
- MAY 19, 2006SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE. MAN TO HANG FOR MURDER OF CHINESE GIRLFRIEND
a Singaporean man was sentenced to hang for murdering his Chinese girlfriend and chopping up her remains.
- MAY 18, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
BRITAIN. BLAIR ASKS MUSHARRAF TO STOP BRITON BEING HANGED
Britain asked Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to stop the hanging of Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British man convicted of shooting dead a taxi driver 18 years ago.
- MAY 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. THREE PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ELECTION MURDERS
Hu Jialong, Chen Riwen and Chen Dedao were sentenced to death by the Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court, China, after convicting them of killing a candidate supporter in a local election.
- MAY 17, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DOORMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING
the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced nightclub bouncer Liu Zhenli to death for manslaughter for ordering an attack that killed one man.
- MAY 17, 2006JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. CONVICTED QUADRUPLE KILLER DEALT DEATH PENALTY
Shojiro Nishimoto, a jobless man under indictment on charges of murdering four people in Nagano and Aichi prefectures in 2004, was handed the death penalty.
- MAY 16, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. 4 MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a multimillionaire and three contract killers were sentenced to death in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, for killing a business rival and injuring two others. Another 11 accomplices received jail terms up to life imprisonment.
- MAY 16, 2006NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA. THREE POLICEMEN SENTENCED TO DEATH
an Orlu High Court in Nigeria presided over by Justice Benjamin Ahanonu Njemanze, sentenced to death three out of the six policemen for deliberately shooting a man to death while on duty.
- MAY 15, 2006UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA. COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF INFANT
a panel of three judges of the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that the trial judge, Lugadya Atwooki, who presided over the High Court sitting in Mbale, Uganda, on November 11, 2002, had rightly sentenced Zubairi Waira, in his sixties, to death.
- MAY 14, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
BRITAIN. FOREIGN SECRETARY PLEADS WITH MUSHARRAF TO SPARE TOURIST CONDEMNED TO HANG
it was reported that new British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, will make a personal plea to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to spare the life of Mirza Tahir Hussain, from Leeds, due to be hanged at dawn at the Adiala central jail in Rawalpin
- MAY 13, 2006FloridaDEATH PENALTY
a jury recommended the death penalty for William F. Davis.
a jury recommended the death penalty for William F. Davis.
- MAY 12, 2006KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
a Warren County Circuit court jury sentenced Phillip L. Brown to death
a Warren County Circuit court jury sentenced Phillip L. Brown to death
- MAY 12, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. BUS CONDUCTOR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STRANGLING TEENAGER
a female bus conductor from Beijing was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for strangling a teenage girl who was suspected of not paying the full fare.
- MAY 12, 2006PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. MUSHARRAF ATTACKER ALLOWED TO APPEAL AGAINST DEATH SENTENCE
the Pakistan Supreme Court permitted an appeal to be filed by Naik Arshad Mahmood, a man sentenced to death for his involvement in an assassination bid on President Pervez Musharraf.
- MAY 11, 2006ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA. TWO TO HANG FOR MURDER
the Kitwe High Court, Zambia, sentenced to death Evans Mumba, 42, and Ronald Mwaba, 24, after convicting them of murder.