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
- APRIL 27, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER-FOR-INSURANCE MONEY
the Hiroshima District Court, Japan, sentenced Kiyotaka Oyama, a former company president, to death for killing his stepfather and wife in the city of Hiroshima to obtain a total of 73 million yen in life insurance money.
- APRIL 27, 2005MissouriDEATH PENALTY
Donald Jones was executed. Jones, 38, was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m..
Donald Jones was executed. Jones, 38, was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m..
- APRIL 27, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Vietnam. Five to face firing squad for drug smuggling
five people, including a woman, were sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Vietnam, court officials said.
- APRIL 27, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a 22 year old man, identified by his first name Ismail, was given a death sentence
a 22 year old man, identified by his first name Ismail, was given a death sentence
- APRIL 27, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohsen Khoshdel, a 33 year old man was sentenced to death
Mohsen Khoshdel, a 33 year old man was sentenced to death
- APRIL 26, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. FORMER LEGISLATOR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, FRAUD
Sang Yuechun, a former Chinese legislator, was sentenced to death for rape, embezzling public funds, defrauding banks, possessing guns and leading criminal gangs, the government said.
- APRIL 25, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. YOUTH SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF GIRL
first Additional Sessions Judge, K. Sasidharan Nair, sentenced a 27-year-old youth, Thomas alias Shikhamani, to death
- APRIL 23, 2005YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN. COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY AGAINST IMAM
a Yemeni appeals court upheld a death sentence against Ali Ahmed Jarallah, an Islamist imam convicted of murdering a senior opposition leader in 2002.
- APRIL 22, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL GIVEN DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Nguyen Van Chinh, an Australian man of Vietnamese origin, was sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
- APRIL 22, 2005SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE. GOVERNMENT REJECTS CLEMENCY FOR MAN ON DEATH ROW
Singapore's president rejected an appeal by the teenage children of Shanmugam Murugesu, a 38-year-old man on death row, saying he would not receive clemency and underlining the country's tough stand on drugs trafficking.
- APRIL 21, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING
Chong Chee Kong, a 46-year-old man who escaped from remand in Johor in 1989, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for drug trafficking. Kong, who had been on the run, was caught by police in 2001.
- APRIL 21, 2005CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
CALIFORNIA. LOS ANGELES TIMES CALLS FOR MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
- APRIL 20, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
District & Session Judge Sahiwal Dr. Riaz Akhtar sentenced Imran Babar to death for murder and kidnapping.
- APRIL 20, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
FIVE PEOPLE TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
in its initial trial, the Xiangtan Intermediate People's Court, sentenced to death Fang Lanying, a Jilin woman, Duan Mingyou, Tan Xinsheng, Peng Jun and Song Haibo after convicting them of drug trafficking.
- APRIL 19, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. ONE TO DIE AND TWO SENTENCED TO LIFE TERM FOR MURDER
Motahar Hossain was sentenced to death in absentia while two others were sentenced to life imprisonemtn by a court in Sherpur, Bangladesh, for murder.
- APRIL 18, 2005Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
GENEVA. EX DEATH ROW INMATE MAKES PLEA FOR A UN MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS
Jean de Dieu Muzaliwa Maroy, former death row inmate in the Democratic Republic of Congo, intervened at the UN Comission on Human Rights representing Hands Off Cain and the Transnational Radical Party.
- APRIL 18, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE OVER NANHAI LOAN FRAUD CASE
in its initial trial, the Foshan Intermediate People's Court, sentenced Lin Yuhang, former president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank, Nanhai Sub-branch, to death with reprieve and six others to sentences ranging from 12 years imprisonment to life.
- APRIL 18, 2005OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
an Oklahoma County jury recommended the death penalty for a man twice convicted of murder.
an Oklahoma County jury recommended the death penalty for a man twice convicted of murder.
- APRIL 17, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CHILDREN'S MURDER
for the first time in recent history, a sessions court in Bangalore, India, sentenced to death three youths for kidnapping and murdering two children at Eklaspura village in Raichur.
- APRIL 13, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. THREE FAMILY MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TRIPLE MURDER CASE
a local court in Sonepat, India, sentenced three members of a family to death in a triple murder case.
- APRIL 12, 2005TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
Devin Banks, 21, was sentenced to death
Devin Banks, 21, was sentenced to death
- APRIL 12, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF WIFE
Abdul Kader was sentenced to death by a court in Laxmipur, Bangladesh, for the murder of his wife, 19-year old Peara Begum, at Charmartin village in the Ramgati district on September 4, 2000.
- APRIL 12, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
FORMER POLICE CHIEF AND OTHERS TO DEATH
Guangan City Intermediate People's Court, sentenced Xiong Qiang, Wang Bo, Li Yong and Cha Wanqing to death and sentenced Zhang Jingsong and Jiang Chunlin to death with reprieve. Yang Zhiquan and nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
- APRIL 12, 2005New YorkDEATH PENALTY
NEW YORK, USA. LAWMAKERS VOTE NOT TO REINSTATE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
a legislative committee rejected a bill on April 12 aimed at reinstating the state's death penalty, which a court had suspended last year.
- APRIL 11, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. SIX PERSONS SENTENCED TO DEATH
six people were sentenced to death in Bangladesh, in three separate cases. Four men were sentenced to death in Dhaka for the murder of police officer Mizanur Rahman in January 2004.
- APRIL 10, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. ONE TO DIE AND FOUR TO GO TO JAIL FOR MURDER
Khokon Bepari, 26, was condemned to death by the Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal of Barisal, Bangladesh, after being found guilty of murder.
- APRIL 10, 2005Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudis execute six men without sentence
Abshir Hassan, a 29 year old London man, accused Saudi Arabia of executing his brother, Abdul Fattah, and five other Somalis on April 1 without ever telling them that they had been condemned to death.
- APRIL 9, 2005BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH. THREE PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH
three people were sentenced to death in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, in two separate murder cases.
- APRIL 9, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. CONVICTS ON DEATH ROW CAN THANK POPE, EDITORIAL
“If nobody has been sent to the lethal-injection chamber since 2001, the convicts can thank Pope John Paul II,” stated an editorial in the Philippine daily the Manilla Standard.
- APRIL 7, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE IN GUN MAKING AND TRAFFICKING CASE
a court in Haikou, sentenced Li Pingsheng, 30, to death with two years reprieve for making and trafficking 33 guns. Li refitted and produced revolvers and other types of pistols for illegal profits.