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
- MAY 4, 2004KenyaDEATH PENALTY
Kenya's Court of Appeal learnt that a judge had illegally...
Kenya's Court of Appeal learnt that a judge had illegally sentenced a 16-year-old hired assassin to death
- MAY 4, 2004Equatorial GuineaDEATH PENALTY
Fearing possible death penalty they could face after...
Fearing possible death penalty they could face after being extradited to Equatorial Guinea, 70 accused mercenaries held in Zimbabwe Tuesday appealed to South Africa through their lawyers to intervene to block their extradition
- MAY 2, 2004MexicoDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that relatives of Osvaldo Torres, a...
It was reported that relatives of Osvaldo Torres, a Mexican awaiting execution in the US state of Oklahoma, would submit 12,500 signatures to the Prison Pardons Board on his behalf to strengthen their plea for a stay of execution
- MAY 1, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Prince Fahd bin Nayef, a minor Saudi prince aged 19,...
Prince Fahd bin Nayef, a minor Saudi prince aged 19, was saved from the executioner's sword by a last-minute pardon by the father of the teenager he murdered
- APRIL 30, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six were sentenced to death in Beijing for collectively...
Six were sentenced to death in Beijing for collectively killing six prostitutes after having sex with them
- APRIL 30, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A court in Pabna, Bangladesh, sentenced Dulal Hossain...
A court in Pabna, Bangladesh, sentenced Dulal Hossain to death for killing his wife
- APRIL 30, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Huang Jianhu was sentenced to death in Taiyuan, in...
Huang Jianhu was sentenced to death in Taiyuan, in northern China's Shanxi province, for premeditated murder, rape and armed robbery after he was convicted of killing 12 prostitutes between 1997 and 2003
- APRIL 30, 2004ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Apisit Nanthapisit, the leader of a gang that abducted...
Apisit Nanthapisit, the leader of a gang that abducted and brutally killed an insurance manager in May 2003, was sentenced to death by a Criminal Court in Thailand, while two accomplices received life imprisonment
- APRIL 29, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Taichung High Court, China, sentenced ship captain...
The Taichung High Court, China, sentenced ship captain Wang Chung-hsing to death and a crewman Ke Ching-sung to life imprisonment for manslaughter after seven women from the Chinese mainland drowned after being thrown overboard
- APRIL 29, 2004UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International (AI) issued a report in which...
Amnesty International (AI) issued a report in which it voiced concern over the destinies of people sentenced to death in Uzbekistan
- APRIL 29, 2004Equatorial GuineaDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70...
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70 men accused of plotting a coup against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
- APRIL 29, 2004ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70...
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70 men accused of plotting a coup against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
- APRIL 29, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70...
Zimbabwe agreed to hand over to Equatorial Guinea 70 men accused of plotting a coup against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
- APRIL 24, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Ma Jiajue was sentenced to death deprived of his political...
Ma Jiajue was sentenced to death deprived of his political rights for life by the Kunming Intermediate People's Court, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, after he was convicted of killing four fellow students
- APRIL 24, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A court in Habiganj, Bangladesh, sentenced Moram Ali...
A court in Habiganj, Bangladesh, sentenced Moram Ali to death in absentia and five others to life imprisonment for killing a man in 1997
- APRIL 24, 2004VietnamDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Nguyen Quoc Tuan, 26, had been...
It was reported that Nguyen Quoc Tuan, 26, had been sentenced to death the previous week in Vietnam's southern Ca Mau province for killing his wife's brother after a family dispute
- APRIL 23, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Hiroshima High Court sentenced a 51-year-old Shozo...
The Hiroshima High Court sentenced a 51-year-old Shozo Nishiyama to death for committing murder and robbery in 1992 while on parole after receiving a life term for a 1973 murder
- APRIL 22, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A Bangladeshi court sentenced a mother and her two...
A Bangladeshi court sentenced a mother and her two sons to death for killing the elder son's wife over a dowry dispute
- APRIL 21, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A man named Shivaprakash was sentenced by an Additional...
A man named Shivaprakash was sentenced by an Additional District and Sessions court in India after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a six-year-old boy, Praveen
- APRIL 20, 2004VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Tran Van Chung, an unemployed man, was sentenced to...
Tran Van Chung, an unemployed man, was sentenced to death in Vietnam for killing a woman after she spurned his amorous advances
- APRIL 19, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed...
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Wong Yeesun, a 35-year-old Malaysian national convicted of killing three people and injuring another during robberies in four prefectures in Japan in 1993
- APRIL 19, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed...
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Wong Yeesun, a 35-year-old Malaysian national convicted of killing three people and injuring another during robberies in four prefectures in Japan in 1993
- APRIL 16, 2004FloridaDEATH PENALTY
After 3 trials, Ronnie Keith Williams was sentenced...
After 3 trials, Ronnie Keith Williams was sentenced to die for that 1993 murder of a pregnant teen Lisashantill "Lisa" Dyke, 18
- APRIL 14, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari had...
Iranian dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari had his four-year jail sentence for insulting religious values dropped, but must await a review of his death sentence for blasphemy before he can hope to be released from prison, Zekrollah Ahmadi, judiciary c
- APRIL 13, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The wives of four bandits due to be hanged in Bangalore,...
The wives of four bandits due to be hanged in Bangalore, southern India, on April 16, were pinning their hopes on a last-minute presidential pardon, the women told AFP
- APRIL 12, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
The speedy trial tribunal in Barisal, Bangladesh, sentenced...
The speedy trial tribunal in Barisal, Bangladesh, sentenced eight people to death, six of them in absentia, after convicting them of murder
- APRIL 10, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Taiwanese nationals Suo Guizhi and Chen Qingbiao were...
Taiwanese nationals Suo Guizhi and Chen Qingbiao were sentenced to death and three others were given jail terms after court in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai convicted them of drug trafficking
- APRIL 10, 2004IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Teacher Ramesh Sahu was sentenced to death by a court...
Teacher Ramesh Sahu was sentenced to death by a court in Shahdol, India, on charges of kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old boy in 1999
- APRIL 10, 2004PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Dad Allah and Faizullah were sentenced to death in...
Dad Allah and Faizullah were sentenced to death in Pakistan by an Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) after being convicted of robbery and murder under section 7 (A) of the ATC Act
- APRIL 10, 2004TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
Taiwanese nationals Suo Guizhi and Chen Qingbiao were...
Taiwanese nationals Suo Guizhi and Chen Qingbiao were sentenced to death and three others were given jail terms after court in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai convicted them of drug trafficking