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
- OCTOBER 9, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH
the state-run daily Iran wrote "The Judiciary in Shahriar sentenced to death a 17-year-old, named Hamid."
- OCTOBER 9, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING HIS FATHER
a court in Feni, Bangladesh, sentenced a man to death for killing his septuagenarian father.
- OCTOBER 9, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. WOMAN TO DIE FOR RAPE RING
Wang Qin, a 19-year-old woman, head of a rape and robbery ring, was sentenced to death with the possibility of life imprisonment.
- OCTOBER 6, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF HUSBAND
the Malda fast track court, India, sentenced to death Chandana Mandal after she was found guilty of killing her husband.
- OCTOBER 5, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MUSHARRAF LIFE ATTEMPT
a Pakistani military court sentenced four air force staff to death and two to life in jail on for their involvement in an al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
- OCTOBER 5, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
TEXAS, USA. COURT OVERTURNS PENRY’S DEATH SENTENCE
Johnny Paul Penry, a convicted killer whose case stirred national debate over whether mentally retarded inmates should be executed had his death sentence overturned for the third time.
- OCTOBER 4, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. 7 PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a Speedy trial tribunal in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, sentenced to death four people and gave life terms to six others for the murder of Khaleque at Dashuria in Pabna district.
- OCTOBER 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. SENTENCED TO DEATH AT 17, EXECUTION DUE SOON
a boy sentenced to death at 17 years of age will be executed, reported the Iranian daily Etemad.
- OCTOBER 2, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA. COURT SENTENCES CHINESE TO DEATH
the High Court in Kampala, Uganda, sentenced to death a Chinese National, Wang Nan, after convicting him of killing his uncle Kong Jishu in 2004. Justice Edmond Lugayizi convicted Nan, a 20-year-old man, for murder, saying the prosecution had proved the c
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2005LibyaDEATH PENALTY
BULGARIA. BULGARIA SEEKS UN HELP TO FREE NURSES CONDEMNED IN LIBYA
Bulgaria asked the World Health Organization for help in securing the release of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya being convicted of purposely infecting children there with HIV-tainted blood.
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR TIANANMEN SQUARE MURDERER OF FILIPINO TOURISTS
Wang Gongzuo, a 25-year-old man, was sentenced to death by the Beijing intermediate court for the murder of two Filipino tourists on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. Wang declined to appeal the verdict.
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2005KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ROBBERY AND MURDER
a Nairobi court sentenced Godown Onyango and George Mungai to death by hanging for violently robbing a military officer and killing him.
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. COUPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SERIAL KILLINGS
a Japanese couple, Futoshi Matsunaga, 44, and his common-law wife Junko Ogata, 43, were sentenced to death at the district court in Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu for killing seven people, including six of their relatives, dismembering their bod
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. 12 DEATH ROW CONVICTS GET 90-DAY REPRIEVE
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo granted 12 death row convicts a 90-day reprieve, rescheduling their date of execution by lethal injection from October to January 2006. In a memorandum to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and Bureau of Corrections Director
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2005CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
a jury recommended that Manuel Bracamontes be executed
a jury recommended that Manuel Bracamontes be executed
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
the People's Court of northern Phu Tho province, Vietnam, sentenced to death two women for trafficking and possessing drugs.
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. HIGH SECURITY JAIL TO BE BUILT FOR DEATH ROW PRISONERS
a high security jail for prisoners on death row would be built at Kashimpur in Gazipur, Bangladesh, as the number of death row convicts was rising due to the lengthy process of execution of the death penalty.
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. 8 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING
the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC), the Philippines, sentenced to death eight of nine kidnappers convicted of abducting the son of a wealthy businessman in Batangas.
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2005IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. INDONESIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
a Malaysian court sentenced Mardani Hussin, an Indonesian man, to death by hanging for trafficking cannabis.
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. LASHKAR-I-JHANGVI ACTIVIST GETS DEATH SENTENCE
the Multan No-1 court, an anti terrorist court in Pakistan, awarded a death sentence on two counts to Abu Bakr alias Usman, a hitman of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi activist group, and two life terms to his accomplice Dilawar on charges of killing two riv
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2005IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. SECOND MILITANT GETS DEATH FOR JAKARTA EMBASSY BLAST
an Indonesian court sentenced a second Islamic militant to death for helping plot and carry out last year's suicide car bomb attack outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta.
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. EIGHT PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the Barrackpore Fast Track First Court, India, sentenced eight people to death in connection with the murder of Archideb Bhattacharya, a private tutor and small-time businessman, in the Kharda police station area of North 24 Parganas district.
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. FORMER ARMY MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF WIFE
Mission Suklavaidya, 41, a former army man, was sentenced to death by the Hailakandi district and sessions court, after being convicted of murdering his wife under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. Suklavaidya’s accomplice, Uttam Chakra-borty
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2005IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. JAKARTA COURT SENTENCES EMBASSY BOMBER TO DEATH
an Indonesian court sentenced to death Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, the main defendant on trial over the 2004 suicide car bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed 10 people.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN TO HANG 19-YEAR-OLD MOTHER
a young Iranian mother was sentenced to execution in the town of Langaroud, northern Iran, the semi-official daily Jomhouri Islami reported.
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young woman, to death.
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young woman, to death.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KINDERGARTEN KILLINGS
China sentenced to death Fu Hegong , a 31 year old man convicted of killing a teacher and a 5-year-old student in a kindergarten in a rampage of rape, robbery and acts of lewdness, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. YAKUZA HITMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR GANGLAND MURDERS
Kaiichi Yamamoto, a gang boss who gunned down five rivals in a Saitama Prefecture city was sentenced to death by the Saitama District Court, Japan. Yamamoto, 58, the gang boss, was convicted on five counts of murder and for firearms violations following t
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN TO FACE GALLOWS FOR MURDERING FRIEND'S SONS
the Utsunomiya District Court, Japan, sentenced Akihiro Shimoyama, a 40-year-old man, to death for murdering two boys in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, in 2004.
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2005CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
a judge ordered the execution of Pravin "Peter" Govin, 35
a judge ordered the execution of Pravin "Peter" Govin, 35, a motel owner who strangled and burned a business rival and her 3 relatives.