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 29, 2004EgyptDEATH PENALTY
The High State Security Court, Egypt, commuted the...
The High State Security Court, Egypt, commuted the death sentence of Anwar Hamed Abbas, an Islamic militant, to life in prison
- JANUARY 28, 2004KenyaDEATH PENALTY
Ten death row prisoners in Kenya walked to freedom...
Ten death row prisoners in Kenya walked to freedom after the Court of Appeal set aside their convictions - because their prosecution was led by a police constable
- JANUARY 27, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian man, identified only as 25-year-old Khodamorad Kh
An Iranian man, identified only as 25-year-old Khodamorad Kh
- JANUARY 27, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Justice Oduneye of an Ikeja high court in Nigeria,...
Justice Oduneye of an Ikeja high court in Nigeria, sentenced three Igunnuko followers to death by hanging for killing a church leader, Pastor Oluwatosin Olajide on 21 December 1996 during a bloody clash between Igunnuko adherents and members of the Aposto
- JANUARY 23, 2004PakistanDEATH PENALTY
A Pakistani court sentenced three Islamic militants...
A Pakistani court sentenced three Islamic militants to death after finding them guilty of killing four women as they prayed at a church near Islamabad
- JANUARY 21, 2004TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
Pat Bondurant, now 49, has been sentenced to death...
Pat Bondurant, now 49, has been sentenced to death after a retrial on charges of beating Ronnie Gaines to death in 1986
- JANUARY 21, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
the judge in Tehran's penal court sentenced a man
the judge in Tehran's penal court sentenced a man
- JANUARY 20, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari, condemned...
Iranian dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari, condemned to death for blasphemy after questioning the power of the clergy, was to have his case re-examined after February's parliamentary elections, a judiciary official said
- JANUARY 19, 2004VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Hoang Duy Nghia, 21, was sentenced to death following...
Hoang Duy Nghia, 21, was sentenced to death following a one day trial by the People's Court of the southern province of Binh Duong, Vietnam
- JANUARY 13, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A court in Jhenidah, Bangladesh, sentenced to death...
A court in Jhenidah, Bangladesh, sentenced to death Mohammad Rawshan Ali for killing a minor after raping her at Kabirpur village in the Shailakupa region on October 15, 1999
- JANUARY 8, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A court in Duanzhou District in China's Guangdong Province,...
A court in Duanzhou District in China's Guangdong Province, recently sentenced Zuo Chengfa, 21, to death for drug trafficking, the Xinxi Shibao newspaper reported
- JANUARY 5, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six drug runners were sentenced to death and four others...
Six drug runners were sentenced to death and four others given life imprisonment by a southern Chinese court after being convicted of trafficking some 58 kilograms (127 pounds) of heroin, state press said
- JANUARY 5, 2004BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
Tofazzal Hossain was sentenced to death by a district...
Tofazzal Hossain was sentenced to death by a district and additional sessions court in Bangladesh for killing his wife on January 31, 1998
- JANUARY 4, 2004IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
A court in Indonesia's Bali island upheld the death...
A court in Indonesia's Bali island upheld the death sentence against Mukhlas, also known as Ali Ghufron, a militant convicted of playing a key role in the 2002 bombings
- JANUARY 3, 2004SudanDEATH PENALTY
Nyala Criminal Court sentenced three men to death by...
Nyala Criminal Court sentenced three men to death by hanging after convicting them for murder under Article 130 of the Penal Code (1991)
- DECEMBER 31, 2003SudanDEATH PENALTY
The Nyala criminal court, Sudan, sentenced Issa Ismaeal...
The Nyala criminal court, Sudan, sentenced Issa Ismaeal Sabeel, a 27 year-old farmer living in Mahajrea, to death by hanging after convicting him of murder under Article 130 of the Penal Code
- DECEMBER 30, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The High Court sentenced to death a 28-year-old father...
The High Court sentenced to death a 28-year-old father of three after finding him guilty of murdering a 30-year-old waiter
- DECEMBER 30, 2003ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Pattani Provincial Court in Thailand sentenced...
The Pattani Provincial Court in Thailand sentenced Sakkariya Yimahama, a Muslim man, to death for killing a policeman in Pattani
- DECEMBER 29, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
An ex-deputy police chief in southern Vietnam who shot...
An ex-deputy police chief in southern Vietnam who shot a Communist Party cadre with a machine gun during a meeting to punish him for being disorganised had been executed, officials said
- DECEMBER 29, 2003TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced to death...
The Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced to death Farhod Sharopov, 34, for murder
- DECEMBER 29, 2003JapanDEATH PENALTY
District and high courts across Japan sentenced a record...
District and high courts across Japan sentenced a record 30 defendants to death in 2003, while 56 death-row inmates did not appeal their sentences or lost appeals as of December 29, according to Kyodo News calculations based on court data
- DECEMBER 29, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Chinese court sentenced a disgraced provincial vice...
A Chinese court sentenced a disgraced provincial vice governor to death for accepting bribes and because he could not account for assets which outstripped his income, state media said
- DECEMBER 29, 2003SudanDEATH PENALTY
The Nyala criminal court in Sudan sentenced Sanousi...
The Nyala criminal court in Sudan sentenced Sanousi Alhaj Ismaeal, a 27 year-old merchant from Hey Alwihda in Nyala, to death by hanging after convicting him for murder under Article 130 of the Penal Code (1991)
- DECEMBER 27, 2003JapanDEATH PENALTY
Mamoru Takuma, who was earlier in 2003 sentenced to...
Mamoru Takuma, who was earlier in 2003 sentenced to death for murdering eight children at an elementary school in Osaka Prefecture in 2001, married a female supporter after his sentence was finalized
- DECEMBER 23, 2003BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A Speedy Trial Court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sentenced...
A Speedy Trial Court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sentenced five people to death and two others to life imprisonment for killing two brothers, Mizanur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman, in the city's Mirpur Shewrapara district on November 1, 2001
- DECEMBER 23, 2003ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
Jasper McMurtrey left the Pima County Courthouse 22...
Jasper McMurtrey left the Pima County Courthouse 22 years after being sentenced to death for a double murder at a notorious biker bar
- DECEMBER 23, 2003MassachusettsDEATH PENALTY
Gary Sampson, 44, who confessed to carjacking and killing...
Gary Sampson, 44, who confessed to carjacking and killing 2 men during a weeklong crime spree was sentenced to death by a federal jury
- DECEMBER 22, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed...
Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed despite doubts over his confession, in a ruling that marked the first time the Supreme Court has circumvented China's two-trial criminal law system
- DECEMBER 17, 2003IraqDEATH PENALTY
The capture of Saddam Husayn and his future had "caused...
The capture of Saddam Husayn and his future had "caused a rift" among members of the Iraqi Governing Council, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Ra'y al-Amm reported, quoting "sources close to the Governing Council"
- DECEMBER 15, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three men were sentenced to death after being convicted...
Three men were sentenced to death after being convicted of kidnapping 32 young women and selling them into marriages for as little as 1,000 yuan (120 dollars), state press reported