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
- DECEMBER 27, 2005KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT. SIX AL QAEDA-LINKED MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH
a Kuwaiti court sentenced to death six suspected militants linked to al Qaeda for bloody attacks in the country.
- DECEMBER 27, 2005FloridaDEATH PENALTY
in Kissimmee, a man convicted of a 1995 murder was sentenced to death for the third time.
in Kissimmee, a man convicted of a 1995 murder was sentenced to death for the third time.
- DECEMBER 23, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
six prisoners in central China were sentenced to death after they escaped a prison and were later caught.
six prisoners in central China were sentenced to death after they escaped a prison and were later caught.
- DECEMBER 23, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the Sialkot Additional District and Sessions Court, Pakistan, sentenced to death Muhammad Akram
- DECEMBER 22, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TWO MURDERS
the Mito District Court, Japan, sentenced a 44-year-old man to death for killing and robbing two elderly female acquaintances in Ibaraki Prefecture in January 2005.
- DECEMBER 22, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR NATHOUSE KILLING
gang leader Qi Bing was sentenced to death for manslaughter by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, China. It was alleged that Qi, 31, and six members of his gang started a quarrel in a bathhouse, killing one person and injuring three others on
- DECEMBER 21, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. SUPREME COURT STAYS EXECUTION OF FOUR CONVICTS
the Shariat Appellate Bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court stayed the execution of four convicts who had been sentenced to death for raping a Christian girl, Saima Bibi, in Faisalabad in 1999.
- DECEMBER 20, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. BANK MANAGER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TAKING BRIBES
Wen Mengjie, 49, was sentenced to death for accepting bribes and embezzling public funds worth CNY15 million (US$1.85 million), Chinese media said.
- DECEMBER 20, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. 'KINDERGARTEN KILLER' EXECUTED FOR MURDERS
Fu Hegong, a 31-year-old man dubbed the "kindergarten killer", convicted of murdering a teacher, a 5-year-old boy and three other people, was executed.
- DECEMBER 20, 2005AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Trinh Huu, an Australian man of Vietnamese origin, was sentenced to death for trafficking heroin in southern Vietnam, a court official said. Huu, 53, was found guilty of trafficking about two kilograms of heroin following a trial in Tay Ninh province bord
- DECEMBER 19, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. EIGHT PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING
a court in Manila, the Philippines, sentenced 8 men to death for kidnapping a Chinese Filipino national.
- DECEMBER 19, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. KILLER OF 5-YEAR-OLD GETS DEATH PENALTY
the second additional district and sessions court in Jamshedpur, India, sentenced Tara Sardar to death for sacrificing a five-year-old boy to “appease” God.
- DECEMBER 19, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Zabihollah Mahrami, an Iranian of the Bahai faith, died in his jail cell of unknown causes
Zabihollah Mahrami, an Iranian of the Bahai faith, died in his jail cell of unknown causes
- DECEMBER 16, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. FORMER SENIOR OFFICIAL GETS DEATH FOR GRAFT
Han Guizhi, the former head of the top advisory body of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting 7.02 million yuan (US$ 875,000) in bribes.
- DECEMBER 16, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DOUBLE MURDER
the Shakargarh Additional District & Session Court, Pakistan, sentenced Abdul Shakoor alias Shoka to death on two counts with a fine of Rs. 200,000 for killing Aslam and Allah Rakha of Bara Bhai-Shakargarh village over an argument in 2003.
- DECEMBER 15, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN VIETNAM FOR HEROIN SMUGGLING
three members of a drug smuggling ring were sentenced to death in Vietnam for smuggling heroin and opium into Vietnam from Laos, said Nguyen Van Huy, an officer from the Nghe An provincial people's court.
- DECEMBER 15, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. FSC DISMISSES PETITION CHALLENGING DEATH SENTENCE IN RAPE CASES
a full bench of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) in Pakistan dismissed a Shariat petition stating that death sentence awarded in rape cases were contrary to the injunctions of the Holy Quran and the Hadith and challenging the trial of rapists in Anti-Terro
- DECEMBER 15, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. DOG TRAINER HANDED DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING 5 PEOPLE WITH MUSCLE RELAXANTS
Yoshinori Ueda, a man convicted of killing five people in 1992 and 1993 using muscle relaxants, was set to be executed after Japan’s Supreme Court rejected his appeal. Ueda, 51, had been sentenced to death after being convicted of murder and abandoning th
- DECEMBER 14, 2005KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir Uulu asked President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir Uulu asked President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
- DECEMBER 13, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. 23 YEAR OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF NIECE
Nigel Fernandez, 23, was sentenced to death and his twin brother, Truver Fernandez, given life imprisonment by a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram, India, after being found guilty of murdering their 17-year-old niece.
- DECEMBER 13, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. DEATH SENTENCE GIVEN TO DRUG TRAFFICKER
a court in Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Son La sentenced Dinh Van Loc to death for trafficking heroin.
- DECEMBER 9, 2005EthiopiaDEATH PENALTY
ETHIOPIA. FIGURE IN ETHIOPIA 'RED TERROR' SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Federal High Court sentenced to death Major Melaku Tefera, one of Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam's top soldiers, for genocide during the country's 1970s "Red Terror" campaign.
- DECEMBER 9, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the Sialkot Additional District and Sessions Court, Pakistan, sentenced to death Shehzad Khan and Faryad Khan on two counts and imposed on them a fine of Rs.200,000 each.
- DECEMBER 8, 2005AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. TWO GANG MEMBERS GET CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
a court in Kabul, Afghanistan, sentenced to death Hashmatullah and Mahmood
- DECEMBER 8, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. COURT SENTENCES WOMAN TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING
a court in northern Vietnam sentenced Tran Thi Thu Thanh, a 39 year old female, to death for smuggling heroin to neighboring China.
- DECEMBER 8, 2005BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Nikolai A. Lubich was sentenced to death, in Belarus.
Nikolai A. Lubich was sentenced to death, in Belarus.
- DECEMBER 7, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. PRESIDENT GRANTS REPRIEVE TO 15 DEATH ROW CONVICTS
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo granted an indefinite reprieve to 15 convicts scheduled for execution in March, the government said.
- DECEMBER 6, 2005KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA. CONDEMNED PRISONER APPEALS FOR ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY
Peter Kamau Ndung'u, a prisoner condemned to death, appealed to the Kenyan government to abolish the death penalty.
- DECEMBER 2, 2005DEATH PENALTY
NORTH CAROLINA. KENNETH LEE BOYD BECOMES 1,000TH PERSON EXECUTED IN U.S. SINCE 1977
a convicted murderer was put to death in the nation's 1,000th execution since capital punishment resumed in 1977. Kenneth Lee Boyd, 57, received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m., said state Department of Correction spokeswoman Pam W
- DECEMBER 2, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. CHINA TO 'TIDY UP' TRADE IN EXECUTED PRISONERS' ORGANS
China broke its silence to admit for the first time that the organs of executed prisoners were sold to foreigners for transplant.