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
- AUGUST 11, 2005AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
a Fayette County jury recommended 10-2 that Devin Moore should die for murdering 2 Police
a Fayette County jury recommended 10-2 that Devin Moore should die for murdering 2 Police
- AUGUST 11, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
an Iranian man who was convicted of murdering a soldier and was known only by his nickname, "The Runaway Shadow," was been hanged in Tehran, the Iran daily reported.
- AUGUST 11, 2005EthiopiaDEATH PENALTY
ETHIOPIA. COURT SENTENCES SENIOR MENGISTU REGIME OFFICIALS TO DIE
two senior officials from Ethiopia's Soviet-backed communist government were sentenced to death for atrocities committed during the 1974 to 1991 rule of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
- AUGUST 10, 2005DEATH PENALTY
IRAN. SIX HANGINGS, THREE DEATH VERDICTS IN TWO DAYS
six people were hanged by the clerical regime in Tehran and Hamedan (western Iran) on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively, Iranian state-run media reported. Two others in Tehran and another in Karaj (west of Tehran) were sentenced to death.
- AUGUST 10, 2005ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA. MAN TO HANG FOR ROBBERY
the Ndola High Court, Zambia, sentenced Emmanuel Mulenga. a 31-year-old man. to death by hanging for aggravated robbery. Passing sentence, Judge Muyinda Wanki said the offence was especially serious due to the use of a firearm.
- AUGUST 10, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. CITU LEADER SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Contai fast track court in East Midnapore, India, sentenced to death a prominent Citu leader, Purnendu Patra, and sentenced CPI-Ms Nilpur local committee secretary, Rabindra Jana, to life rigorous imprisonment.
- AUGUST 10, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GANG CHIEFS GET DEATH FOR SELLING 82 CHILDREN
a Fujian Province court, China, handed down death sentences to the leaders of two gangs that bought more than 80 children from their parents and sold them in Singapore.
- AUGUST 8, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
three people were sentenced to death, one in absentia, by a court in Satkhira, Bangladesh, for killing a UP member at Baikari village, Sadar district.
- AUGUST 8, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. TWO YOUNG MEN SENT TO THE GALLOWS
the district court of Munshinganj, Bangladesh, sentenced to death Monir Hossain, 26, for the murder of his elder brother in Nayagaon, Sadar, on August 1, 2005.
- AUGUST 8, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING
in its initial trial, the Haikou City Intermediate People's Court in Hainan Province, China, sentenced Wang Chunliang, Zhou Bing, Huang Bin, LI Haichun and Wu Xiaobo to death for trafficking in more than six kg of narcotics.
- AUGUST 6, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR TWO MEN CONVICTED OF CHILD MURDER, 2 ACCOMPLICES SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS RIGOROUS IMPRISONMENT
an Anti-terrorist Court (ATC) in Faisalabad, Pakistan, sentenced to death Muhammad Ashfaq Shah and Muhammad Umair on charges of abduction for ransom and murder of a six year old boy.
- AUGUST 4, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. DEATH FOR PARLIAMENT RAIDER
the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence handed to Mohammed Afzal for involvement in a deadly attack on parliament by Muslim militants four years ago.
- AUGUST 4, 2005IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA. COURT SENTENCES TWO MEN TO DEATH FOR PRODUCTION OF ECSTASY
the South Jakarta district court, Indonesia, sentenced to death Sastra Wijaya, 47, and Yudha alias Akang. 33, after convicting them of working in an ecstasy factory in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.
- AUGUST 4, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING CLASSMATE
a court in Vijayawada awarded the death sentence to Yelchuri Manohar, convicted of killing his classmate Ravuri Srilakshmi with a butcher's knife in a classroom in their college.
- AUGUST 3, 2005FloridaDEATH PENALTY
Christopher Offord, 30, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Dedee Costello.
Christopher Offord, 30, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Dedee Costello.
- JULY 31, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. ELEVEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
eleven persons, including two young women, were sentenced to death for the murder of a business tycoon of old Dhaka city, Mohamed Alam.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
OFFICER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
the Intermediate People's Court of Guigang City, sentenced Huang Jinxiong, a public security officer, and two other defendants, Tang Dazhang and He Shirong, to death after convicting them of drug trafficking.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
EX-OFFICIAL TO DEATH FOR CORRUPTION
Ma De, former secretary of the municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Suihua City, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court for accepting bribes.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SIX MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 10 MURDERS DURING CAR ROBBERIES
China sentenced to death six gang members convicted of killing 10 people during car robberies in the Pearl River Delta area and northern parts of Guangdong province.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. LEGISLATOR GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR FRAUD, RAPE
Sang Yuechun, a former Chinese legislator, was condemned to death for a range of crimes including embezzling public funds, defrauding banks and rape, after a court rejected his appeal.
- JULY 27, 2005BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
BOTSWANA. COURT QUASHES DEATH SENTENCE
it was tears of joy for death row inmate Mothusi Phiri when the Court of Appeal substituted his death sentence with a 20-year jail term and upheld a five-year jail sentence for attempted murder.
- JULY 25, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN ACCUSED OF FUKUOKA FAMILY MURDERS EXECUTED FOLLOWING FAILED APPEAL
Yang Ning, a Chinese man sentenced to death over the killing of a family of four in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 2003 had been executed for the crime, Japanese diplomats said.
- JULY 25, 2005PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
in Greensburg, a Westmoreland County jury gave Michael Travaglia the death penalty for his conviction in a 25-year-old murder
in Greensburg, a Westmoreland County jury gave Michael Travaglia the death penalty for his conviction in a 25-year-old murder
- JULY 22, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGDONG COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH FOR ECSTASY SMUGGLING
in its initial trial, the Foshan City Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Zhao Fuqiang and Ye Zhixiong to death for drug smuggling and Chen Pengfei to seven years imprisonment for his involvement in the crime.
- JULY 20, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGZHOU COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE FOR MAKING ANDTRAFFICKING ECSTASY
in its second trial, a Guangzhou court, China, sentenced Yu Zhuoxiong, Guo Mingqing and Chen Yuhan to death with two years reprieve.
- JULY 17, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. THREE SIBLINGS ARE TO GO GALLOWS, TWO TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Kazi Mohammad Panna, Kazi Mohammad Anna and Kazi Mohammad Manna, aged 28 to 35, were sentenced to death and their two younger brothers, Kazi Mohammad Shahin, 24, and Kazi Mohammad Tuhin, 26, to life imprisonment by a court in Jessore, for severing the ar
- JULY 16, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. GOVERNMENT TO BUILD PRISON FOR CONDEMNED AS DEATH-ROW NUMBERS ROCKET
Bangladesh would build a new jail for death-row inmates after a crackdown on violent crime doubled the number of condemned prisoners in three years, officials said.
- JULY 14, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
VERMONT, USA. JURY RECOMMENDS DEATH FOR MAN IN FIRST DEATH PENALTY CASE FOR 50 YEARS
Donald Fell, a man convicted of kidnapping a supermarket worker and fatally beating her as she prayed for her life, was sentenced to death by a federal jury in Vermont's first capital punishment case in almost a half century.
- JULY 14, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGZHOU COURT SENTENCES ONE TO DEATH FOR HEROIN AND ECSTASY TRAFFICKING
it was reported that the Guangzhou City Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Chen Qiugeng, a 38-year-old Jiangxi native, to death for trafficking 1.05 kg of heroin and 120 grams of ecstasy pills.
- JULY 13, 2005LaosDEATH PENALTY
LAOS. TWO PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Laos, which is not believed to have carried out an execution for more than a decade, passed death sentences on two drug traffickers, the official KPL news agency said.