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
- JUNE 15, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE
Monor Miah, 32, was condemned to death by a Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal in Sylhet, Bangladesh, after being convicted of killing his wife.
- JUNE 14, 2005OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction and sentence of Curtis Edward McCarty
the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction and sentence of Curtis Edward McCarty. McCarty has been convicted twice and sentenced to death 3 times in the case.
- JUNE 14, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. TRADER SENTENCED TO DEATH IN CHITTAGONG FOR MURDER
a court in Chittagong, Bangladesh, convicted Abdur Rashid, a trader, and sentenced him to death for the murder of another businessman.
- JUNE 13, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
TEXAS. SUPREME COURT ORDERS NEW TRIAL FOR DEATH ROW INMATE
the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a black death row inmate who said Texas prosecutors unfairly stacked his jury with whites, issuing a harsh rebuke to the state that executes more people than any other.
- JUNE 13, 2005OhioDEATH PENALTY
in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court had reinstated the murder conviction for...
in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court had reinstated the murder conviction for...
- JUNE 13, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN COMILLA
two people were sentenced to death and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment by an Additional District and Session court in Comilla, Bangladesh, after being convicted of murdering Zahirul Islam.
- JUNE 12, 2005Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY. FOUR MEN CONVICTED OF MURDER EXECUTED
the Palestinian Authority executed four convicted murderers, officials said, defying international calls to halt capital punishment as part of reforms considered key to securing future Palestinian statehood.
- JUNE 10, 2005UgandaDEATH PENALTY
UGANDA. COURT STRIKES DOWN MANDATORY DEATH SENTENCES
Uganda's constitutional court struck down the imposition of mandatory death sentences but rejected an appeal by death-row inmates to completely outlaw capital punishment.
- JUNE 10, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
AUSTRALIA. GOVERNMENT TO PLEAD FOR DRUG SMUGGLER FACING FIRING SQUAD IN VIETNAM
the Australian federal government said it would plead for the life of Mai Cong Thanh, an Australian sentenced to death in Vietnam for conspiring to smuggle heroin.
- JUNE 10, 2005Trinidad & TobagoDEATH PENALTY
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. PITMAN RECEIVES STAY OF EXECUTION
the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago granted convicted murderer Lester Pitman a stay of execution following the production of a notice of appeal filed by his lawyers on April 22 which the State said it had never received.
- JUNE 10, 2005LiberiaDEATH PENALTY
LIBERIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
Nyonoh Diah was sentenced to death after a 12-man jury unanimously convicted him of murder
- JUNE 9, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. ISRAELIS BUY CHINESE DEATH ROW ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANTS
according to the Maariv daily China had become the number one destination for Israelis desperate for a life-saving transplant donor as Chinese authorities were selling organs taken from executed prisoners.
- JUNE 8, 2005ConnecticutDEATH PENALTY
a 3-judge panel ruled that convicted killer Todd Rizzo should be executed
a 3-judge panel ruled that convicted killer Todd Rizzo should be executed for bludgeoning a 13-year-old boy to death with a sledgehammer in 1997.
- JUNE 8, 2005EgyptDEATH PENALTY
Egyptian Grand Mufti Prof Dr Sheikh Ali Gouma endorsed the death sentence passed by...
Egyptian Grand Mufti Prof Dr Sheikh Ali Gouma endorsed the death sentence passed by a Cairo court on Ali Darman Agustri, an Indonesian national, for premeditated multiple murder.
- JUNE 7, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. HUSBAND DEFENDS JAPAN'S 'CURRY KILLER'
Kenji Hayashi, a Japanese man whose wife was sentenced to death for killing four neighbors with arsenic-laced curry -- and once allegedly tried to poison him -- said she should be freed and reunited with their four children.
- JUNE 6, 2005AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. SUPREME COURT WILL CONSIDER WILL OF CUTULI FAMILY IN TRIALS OF ZAR JAN AND REZA KHAN
“We take very much into consideration the will of the family of Maria Grazia Cutuli, their requests are very influential,” stated an internal source at the Afghan Supreme Court the day after the arrest of Mohamed Zar Jan, presumed leader of the gang which
- JUNE 6, 2005IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
the Abbsea state court in East Cairo, Egypt...
the Abbsea state court in East Cairo, Egypt, sentenced Indonesian national Ali Darman Agustri to death for premeditated multiple murder.
- JUNE 5, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. NINE PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING
thirteen members of a well-organized drug gang in Baise, a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, were sentenced to death and to life imprisonment for trafficking 36 kilograms of heroin.
- JUNE 4, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. TWO BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN BIHAR
two brothers were sentenced to death by a local court in Buxar, India, in connection with the killing of their three brothers in Bihar's Buxar district.
- JUNE 4, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. GOVERNMENT SEEKS MERCY FOR DEATH ROW CONVICT IN SAUDI ARABIA
the Philippines asked Saudi Arabia to spare the life of Rey Cortez, a Filipino sentenced to death for murder, the Filipino President Gloria Arroyo's press secretary Ignacio Bunye said.
- JUNE 2, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR
a sessions court in New Delhi, India, sentenced to death Satish of Nangla village. He had been charged with the rape and murder of a minor girl of the same village in August 2001.
- JUNE 2, 2005LaosDEATH PENALTY
the Lao People's Court of Vientiane have given the death penalty to six people...
the Lao People's Court of Vientiane have given the death penalty to six people...
- JUNE 1, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. CHINESE MAN IN FUKUOKA FAMILY MURDER APPEALS DEATH SENTENCE
Wei Wei, a Chinese national, appealed a district court ruling that sentenced him to death for his part in the murder in 2003 of a family of four in Fukuoka, Japan.
- JUNE 1, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. FOUR MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER
Sialkot Additional District & Sessions Judge Khalid Arshad sentenced Akhtar Ali to death on two counts with a with a fine of Rs. 100,000 and sentenced to death with a fine of Rs. 50,000 each Babar Ali, Abdul Razzaq and Muhammad Ramzan alias Hakeem.
- MAY 31, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. 7 PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF THREE
seven people were sentenced to death by a Fast Track Court in Tirupattur, India, after being convicted of murdering three members of the same family.
- MAY 29, 2005YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN. ZAIDI MEMBER SENTENCED TO DEATH
a Yemeni court sentenced to death Hussein Mohammad al-Dailami, a member of a rebel Shiite Zaidi movement, after he was convicted of forging illicit contacts with Iran. Dailami, 40, was sentenced to death for "making contacts with a foreign country, namely
- MAY 29, 2005LibyaDEATH PENALTY
LIBYA. LIBYA READY TO COMPROMISE ON BULGARIAN MEDICS
the death sentences of the Bulgarian medics in Libya may be revoked if the interested parties manage to reach a consensus, the BBC cited Tripoli's foreign minister Abdel Rahman Mohammed Shalkam as saying after the visit of Bulgarian president Georgi Parva
- MAY 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. ISLAMIST VIGILANTE SENTENCED TO DEATH
a member of an Islamist vigilante group convicted of a string of murders in Iran was sentenced to death while five other gang members were handed long prison terms.
- MAY 26, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. TORCHLIT DEMONSTRATION FOR MAJDA, A MOROCCAN WOMAN AT RISK OF DECAPITATION IN SAUDI ARABIA
the plight of Majda Mustapha Mahir, a 40-year old Moroccan woman condemned to death in Saudi Arabia for the murder of her husband in 1998, took Hands Off Cain and the Association of Moroccan Women in Italy to the streets of Rome in protest.
- MAY 25, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
in Tarrant County, Chelsea Lea Richardson, 21, was unanimously sentenced to death
in Tarrant County, Chelsea Lea Richardson, 21, was unanimously sentenced to death