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
JANUARY 22, 2024NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING, KILLING CHIEF OGBOBULA IN RIVERS
A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on January 18, 2024 sentenced to death three men on charges of kidnapping and murder.
JANUARY 18, 2024JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: 21-YEAR-OLD MAN GIVEN DEATH PENALTY FOR 2021 MURDER, ARSON
A Japanese court sentenced a 21-year-old man to death on January 18, 2024 for the 2021 murder of two and arson, in the first case of capital punishment being given to an offender who was a minor at the time of the crime but whose name has been revealed un
JANUARY 18, 2024AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Alarm as Kenneth Smith to be executed via gas method rejected by veterinarians
JANUARY 17, 2024PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING FATHER
A man was sentenced to death in Pakistan on December 29, 2023 after he was found guilty of killing his father with repeated strokes of a scissors on October 26, 2020 in the Langha village, located along the border of Khairpur district.
- JANUARY 16, 2024United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR PREMEDITATED MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND
The Dubai Criminal Court has sentenced an Arab man to death for the premeditated murder of his European girlfriend, Gulf News reported on Janury 16, 2024.
JANUARY 12, 2024United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - U.S. to Seek Death for Payton Gendron
Biden thus contradicts his electoral promises
JANUARY 11, 2024ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 1997 POISONING
Two kung fu coaches were handed death sentences in China on January 8, 2024, following their arrest in 2023 for a 1997 poisoning that killed seven children, a court said.
JANUARY 5, 2024DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohsen Saravani executed in Zahedan on December 16
JANUARY 1, 2024DEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Karaj on January 1
Manouchehr Aqabi, Dariush Shekarzadeh, Masoud Rostami, Navkhas Maleki e Afshin Mohammadi
JANUARY 1, 2024DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Iran HRM 2023 Annual Report
850 executions
DECEMBER 31, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Organization for Human Rights releases its 2023 report
Execution of 823 Prisoners in Iran during 2023
DECEMBER 29, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN GETS DEATH FOR BANK CAPER MURDER
A man who unsuccessfully tried to rob a bank in Da Nang was sentenced to death on December 28, 2023 for killing a security guard who chased him from the crime scene.
DECEMBER 29, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Asghar Abdullah Parikhani and Abbas Faraj Oghli executed in Meshgin Shahr
Parikhani on December 29, Oghli on December 25
DECEMBER 26, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR SETTING HIS MOTHER ABLAZE IN NIGER STATE
The Minna High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, on December 13, 2023 sentenced Stephen Jiya to death by hanging for setting his biological mother ablaze which resulted in her death.
DECEMBER 22, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Glynn Simmons formally exonerated
After 48 years in prison
DECEMBER 21, 2023TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: SIX PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER CHURCH BOMBING
Six people found guilty of bombing a Catholic church in Arusha, northwestern Tanzania in 2013 have been sentenced to death.
DECEMBER 21, 2023PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SHAHNAWAZ AMIR SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SARAH INAM’S MURDER CASE
An Islamabad trial court on December 14, 2023 sentenced Shahnawaz Amir to death for the murder of Sarah Inam and imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him, which would be paid to the bereaved family.
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 Unidentified Men Executed in Ardabil on December 20
Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years
DECEMBER 20, 2023ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FEMALE SERIAL KILLER LAO RONGZHI EXECUTED
Lao Rongzhi, a woman in the spotlight for her involvement in multiple killings, was executed on December 18, 2023 after China's top court approved her death sentence.
DECEMBER 20, 2023BotswanaDEATH PENALTYBOTSWANA: CHILD-KILLER CONDEMNED TO DEATH
The Gaborone High Court has sent a convicted child rapist and murderer to the gallows. Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane sentenced Ramatshwiri Mokobela to death on December 14, 2023 for killing a five-year-old girl-child in the Ghanzi District area.
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Death Sentences Issued for 2,000 People in the Small City of Delfan
DECEMBER 19, 2023GuyanaDEATH PENALTYGUYANA: HIGH COURT JUDGE SENTENCED FIVE MEN TO DEATH FOR BRUTAL 2016 PIRACY ATTACK
Justice Sandil Kissoon of the High Court in Guyana on December 14, 2023 sentenced five men to death for the 2016 piracy attack that claimed the lives of four fishermen.
DECEMBER 18, 2023PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Noel Montalvo Exonerated
DECEMBER 15, 2023TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Texas still leads nation in executions, but the pace is much slower now
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty 2023 Report
DECEMBER 14, 2023AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Lawsuit against the execution of Kenneth Smith under the new nitrogen hypoxia system
Set for 25 January
DECEMBER 13, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED, WORKER GETS 33 YEARS FOR KILLING FOREMAN
A Bangladeshi man escaped the gallows after the Federal Court in Putrajaya on December 23, 2023 commuted his death sentence to 33 years in jail for murdering his fellow countryman.
DECEMBER 11, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ZAMFARA FOR KILLING FRIEND OVER N100
A Zamfara State High Court on December 7, 2023 sentenced one Anas Dahiru to death by hanging for killing his friend.
DECEMBER 11, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: EX-COP'S APPEAL OVER MURDER OF FAMILY DISMISSED, DEATH PENALTY UPHELD
Japan's top court on December 8, 2023 dismissed an appeal by the defense of a former policeman who was given the death sentence for the murders of his wife and two children in 2017, exhausting his legal options.
DECEMBER 10, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER MOTORCYCLE THEFT IN EKITI
Four persons, Segun Friday, Tijani Semiu Seun, Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju, and Adebayo Tope, found guilty of stealing a motorcycle have been sentenced to death by the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Tori.ng reported on Devember 7, 2023.
DECEMBER 7, 2023United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - DPIC 2023 Year End Report
24 executions and 21 new death sentences in 2023