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 7, 2005KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
the resentencing of Michael St. Clair ended with the same sentence a jury decided on 7 years ago.
the resentencing of Michael St. Clair ended with the same sentence a jury decided on 7 years ago.
- SEPTEMBER 7, 2005FloridaDEATH PENALTY
a jury recommended 2 death sentences for Thomas Eugene Bevel
a jury recommended 2 death sentences for Thomas Eugene Bevel, a man convicted in the February 2004 shooting deaths of Garrick Stringfield and his 13-year-old son, Phillip Sims, to get rid of a witness
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. SADDAM SHOULD BE EXECUTED 20 TIMES A DAY, TALABANI SAYS
ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "confessed" to releasing orders for executions and a campaign against Kurds in which thousands of people are said to have been killed, President Jalal Talabani said.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
IRAN SENTENCES MAN TO EXECUTION, WOMAN TO FLOGGING AND JAIL
a court in Iran sentenced a woman to 100 lashes and 15 years jail time and an Afghan man to execution on charges of murder, Persian-language websites reported.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Malaysia. Man escapes gallows on appeal
a Court of Appeal in Malaysia allowed Mohd Fauzi Ridzwan's appeal against a High Court conviction for trafficking in 4.5kg of ganja.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. DEATH FOR 4 IN BUSINESSWOMAN'S ABDUCTION
four out of 14 people accused of abducting Chinese-Filipino businesswoman Michelle Siu Ragos were sentenced to death, seven others were sentenced to life, while three were acquitted, according to a decision by Judge Bonifacio Sanz Maceda of the Las Piñas
- AUGUST 31, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. SEVEN PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
a speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sentenced to death Sohel Riaz Pappu, Shahriar Hossain Jashim, Laluuddin Lalu, Mir Mohammad Riaz, Shah Alam, Ratan and Tipu after convicting them of murdering a young man in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.
- AUGUST 31, 2005ThailandDEATH PENALTY
a 23-year-old former college student, Nattapong Raksapong, was sentenced to death
a 23-year-old former college student, Nattapong Raksapong, was sentenced to death
- AUGUST 31, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. CONVICTED TRAFFICKER GETS DEATH SENTENCE
the Malaysian High Court sentenced Mohamad Che Tam, unemployed, to death after finding him guilty of trafficking in 24.7g of heroin.
- AUGUST 29, 2005IndianaDEATH PENALTY
Gov. Mitch Daniels commuted the sentence of Arthur P. Baird II to life without the possibility of parole.
Gov. Mitch Daniels commuted the sentence of Arthur P. Baird II to life without the possibility of parole.
- AUGUST 28, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. TALABANI WON'T SIGN SADDAM DEATH SENTENCE
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks that he would not sign a death sentence against his ousted predecessor Saddam Hussein even if it costs him his job.
- AUGUST 27, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
Rodolfo
Rodolfo "Kreeper" Medrano has been sentenced to death.
- AUGUST 26, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CORRUPTION
a local court in Central China's Hunan Province sentenced Li Shubiao to death for embezzling around 120 million yuan (US$14.8 million).
- AUGUST 26, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. FIVE SENTENCED TO HANG FOR MUSHARRAF PLOT
Pakistan sentenced five men, including a soldier, to hang for their role in an al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf in late 2003, a military spokesman said. Musharraf, one of the West's main allies in a global war on terro
- AUGUST 26, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE. MALAYSIAN MAN SENTENCED TO HANG FOR CHINESE GIRL'S MURDER
Took Leng How, a 23-year-old Malaysian man, was sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of murdering an eight-year-old mainland Chinese girl in Singapore. Judge Lai Kew Chai in his verdict said the prosecution had proven its case that Took,
- AUGUST 25, 2005South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
SOUTH KOREA. COUNTRY’S DEATH ROW INMATES NUMBER 61
the number of death row inmates in South Korea increased to 61 after the Supreme Court sentenced a 36-year-old man to death for murder, court officials said. South Korea had not carried out an execution of a convicted criminal since December 1997 amid a f
- AUGUST 25, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. 5,000 RALLY FOR ALLEGED INDIAN SPY FACING DEATH IN PAKISTAN
nearly 5,000 people held a rally as shops and businesses shut down in the home town of Sarabjeet Singh, an Indian facing death by hanging in Pakistan, demanding clemency and his immediate return home. In New Delhi, India's External Affairs Minister Natwar
- AUGUST 24, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. MAN TO DIE FOR KILLING WIFE IN BARISAL
qbal Hossain, 30, was convicted and condemned to death by a court Barisal, Bangladesh, for the murder of his wife.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. ANOTHER EXECUTION DUE AS NEW DEATH SENTENCE PASSED
Abed Saleh al-Issawi, an Iraqi man convicted of murder, was sentenced to death in Iraq's fourth scheduled execution since authorities reinstated capital punishment.
- AUGUST 23, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. TWO CONDEMNED FOR DEADLY LAND GRAB ARSON
two real estate agents were sentenced to death in Shanghai, China, for torching the homes of residents who refused to relocate for a development project, killing an elderly couple.
- AUGUST 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. COURT CONDEMNS TO DEATH FOUR ABDUCTORS OF FEMALE GYNAECOLOGIST
the Islamic Revolution Court of Kerman, Iran, condemned to death by hanging four abductors of a female doctor.
- AUGUST 23, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. INDIAN LEADER TO QUESTION PAKISTAN'S MUSHARRAF ABOUT CONDEMNED ‘SPY’
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he would speak to Pakistan's president about Sarabjit Singh, an alleged Indian spy handed the death sentence in Pakistan.
- AUGUST 22, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. 10 MEN SENT TO THE GALLOWS
ten men were sentenced to death and 16 others to life imprisonment in two separate murder cases in Dhaka and Sylhet, Bangladesh.
- AUGUST 19, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
proponents of the so-called Streamlined Procedures Act justify this radical piece of...
proponents of the so-called Streamlined Procedures Act justify this radical piece of legislation by citing the supposedly intrusive scrutiny of federal courts of state capital convictions and the delays that ensue.
- AUGUST 19, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. EIGHT CHINESE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DEADLY CRIMES IN CAMBODIA
a court in China condemned eight Chinese to death for a series of kidnappings and robberies in Cambodia in which at least 10 people were killed.
- AUGUST 18, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH, THREE OTHERS TO LIFE FOR MURDER
a court in Sherpur, Bangladesh, sentenced M. Selim Mahamud Helal, 22, to death and three others to life imprisonment for murder
- AUGUST 13, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
an Iranian man convicted of murdering a fellow prisoner during an escape attempt in July was hanged at a jail in the southwestern city of Shiraz, the Etemad newspaper reported.
- AUGUST 13, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. COURT AFFIRMS DEATH FOR THREE
former bus driver Hanafi Mat Hassan, 37, failed to overturn his death sentence for the murder of a 24-year-old female computer engineer.
- AUGUST 12, 2005AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
in Luvurne, Circuit Judge Ed McFerrin ordered a death sentence for Westley Devon Harris
in Luvurne, Circuit Judge Ed McFerrin ordered a death sentence for Westley Devon Harris, 25, a ruling that rejected the 7-5 jury's recommendation for life without parole.
- AUGUST 12, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. EX-BANK OF CHINA EXECUTIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE FOR GRAFT
Liu Jinbao, a former senior executive of the Bank of China accused of corruption, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, the Xinhua news agency reported.