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
- FEBRUARY 25, 2006AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. COURT SENTENCES FORMER SPY CHIEF TO DEATH
an Afghan court sentenced former spy chief Assadullah Sarwari to death for killing hundreds of people during communist rule, the first such punishment for war crimes after decades of conflict in the country.
- FEBRUARY 25, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. FIVE GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Etawah Court in Kanpur, India, sentenced to death five alleged members of underworld don Chhota Rajan’s gang in connection with a 2002 murder.
- FEBRUARY 22, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. SUPREME COURT REJECTS NEW ALIBI EVIDENCE AT SENTENCING
convicted murderers facing the death penalty do not have a constitutional right at sentencing to offer new evidence seeking to cast doubt on their guilt, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously.
- FEBRUARY 22, 2006Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Serviceman sentenced to death for murder
the military court of the Uvira Garrison, DRC, sentenced a soldier to death and two others to terms of imprisonment after convicting them of murder and the distribution of arms.
- FEBRUARY 21, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HANDS OFF CAIN. STOP WITH THE HYPOCRISY OF THE HUMANENESS OF LETHAL INJECTION
Hands Off Cain Treasurer Elisabetta Zamparutti made the following statement regarding the events surrounding the case of Michael Angelo Morales: “States which have recently passed from the electric chair, from hanging or from death by firing squad to tha
- FEBRUARY 20, 2006TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
it was reported that a former Taipei County senior high school teacher...
it was reported that a former Taipei County senior high school teacher...
- FEBRUARY 20, 2006IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. BALI NINE APPEAL AGAINST DEATH SENTENCES
Andrew Chan, 22, and Myuran Sukumaran, 24, sentenced to death for trafficking heroin in the Indonesian resort island of Bali and seven others given life imprisonment for their involvement in the smuggling ring filed appeals in the Indonesian justice syste
- FEBRUARY 20, 2006NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE. APPEALS COURT REJECTS APPLICATION TO OVERTURN DEATH SENTENCE OF 2 MEN
the Singapore Appeals Court rejected the application of two men to have their death sentence overturned.
- FEBRUARY 19, 2006AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
AUSTRALIA. AFP UNDER FIRE OVER VIETNAM DRUG ARREST
Australian Federal Police were facing fresh controversy over their policy of giving information to foreign police in cases that could end in the death penalty.
- FEBRUARY 18, 2006AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. PRESIDENT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES OF TWO AUSTRALIANS
Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong commuted the death sentences imposed on two convicted Australian heroin traffickers to life imprisonment, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
- FEBRUARY 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SEVEN SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ATTACK ON VILLAGERS
four men were sentenced to death in China for organising and carrying out an attack in June 2005 that killed six villagers protesting about the seizure of their land for a power plant.
- FEBRUARY 17, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday at San Quentin State Prison for murdering a girl in 1981.
- FEBRUARY 17, 2006North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Jeremy Dushane Murrell, 26, was sentenced to death
Jeremy Dushane Murrell, 26, was sentenced to death in Forsyth Superior Court for killing Lawrence Matthew Harding, 19.
- FEBRUARY 15, 2006JordanDEATH PENALTY
JORDAN. NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TERROR PLOT
a military court sentenced nine men, including al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to death for a plot to carry out a chemical attack on the kingdom.
- FEBRUARY 15, 2006IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. 15-YEAR-OLD SCHOOLBOY SENTENCED TO DEATH
a 15-year-old schoolboy has been sentenced to death accused of murder, government-run websites announced.
- FEBRUARY 15, 2006MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CANNABIS
Mohammad Abdullah, unemployed, was sentenced to death by a High Court in Malaysia after being found guilty of trafficking in 2018.04 grams of cannabis.
- FEBRUARY 15, 2006AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
AUSTRALIA. DOWNER CONFIDENT OF SAVING BALI NINE
Australia remains confident Indonesia will grant clemency to two members of the Bali Nine sentenced to death, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2006IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. TWO AUSTRALIANS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN BALI DRUGS TRIAL
an Indonesian court sentenced two young Australian men to die by firing squad for attempting to smuggle heroin from the resort island of Bali, verdicts that could strain ties with Canberra.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2006IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. THREE INDONESIAN TRIBESMEN GET DEATH FOR RITUAL KILLINGS
an Indonesian court sentenced to death three men from an indigenous tribe on the remote Seram island, north of Maluku province, for ritual killings.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2006MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. COURT AMENDS CHARGE, MAN ESCAPES THE GALLOWS
Shafie Ghani, a stall owner sentenced to death for drug trafficking, escaped the gallows in Malaysia after the Court of Appeal amended the charge against him.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2006IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. CONVICTED MILITANT TO APPEAL DEATH SENTENCE
Assep Djaja, a militant who was sentenced to death over attacks on Indonesian islands plagued by religious violence, said he would appeal the verdict, and insisted he was taking part in jihad not terrorism.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2006VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
a Valley County jury has recommended the death penalty for Ivan Teleguz.
a Valley County jury has recommended the death penalty for Ivan Teleguz.
- FEBRUARY 13, 2006IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR TERROR SUSPECT
Indonesian national Assep Djaja was sentenced to death for killing eight people in attacks in the Moluccas islands that sparked fears of sectarian bloodshed in the region.
- FEBRUARY 9, 2006BrazilDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. NO MERCY FOR BRAZILIAN DEATH ROW DRUG CONVICT IN INDONESIA
Indonesia's president rejected an appeal for clemency from Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, a Brazilian man sentenced to death for smuggling cocaine into the country.
- FEBRUARY 7, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. FATHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF MINOR DAUGHTERS
Abdul Mannan, 35, was sentenced to death by a court in Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh, for strangulating to death his two minor daughters after losing a legal battle to his neighbour.
- FEBRUARY 7, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
six Jurors Urge Sparing Killer's Life----Echoing the trial judge and citing new evidence...
six Jurors Urge Sparing Killer's Life----Echoing the trial judge and citing new evidence, they ask the governor to halt the execution of Michael Morales for a girl's murder in 1981.
- FEBRUARY 6, 2006BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. SIX PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TWO SEPARATE CASES
the Meherpur district court, Bangladesh, sentenced Rustam, Rahman and Enamul to death for the murder of a trader in Ghangni.
- FEBRUARY 6, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN CONVICTED IN KIDNAPPING CASE
Ye Li, a 24-year-old Henan Province native, was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, China, for kidnapping and murder.
- FEBRUARY 6, 2006Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Soldier sentenced to death for murder
the military court of the Bukavu Garrison, in the Eastern region of the DRC, sentenced to death a FARDC soldier for killing a 5-year-old boy and wounding four other civilians.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2006BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
Mr Oteng Modisane Ping submitted an application for mercy from President Festus Mogae of Botswana.
Mr Oteng Modisane Ping submitted an application for mercy from President Festus Mogae of Botswana.