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 1, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING CARETAKER OVER TK5 DEMAND
A Dhaka court on March 31, 2026 sentenced a man to death for killing a caretaker after asking him for Tk5 in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
MARCH 31, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE
A Jamalpur court on March 30, 2026 sentenced a man to death for killing his wife in Dewanganj upazila, in a case linked to alleged dowry-related abuse.
MARCH 30, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: KANO COURT SENTENCES TWO MEN TO DEATH FOR MURDER DURING ROBBERY
A High Court in Kano on March 3, 2026 sentenced two men to death by hanging for killing a newly married man during a robbery.
MARCH 30, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Executions of Political Prisoners Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar and Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi
Accused of involvement in the January Protests and being members of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran
MARCH 26, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: LHC ACQUITS TWO DEATH ROW CONVICTS IN DOUBLE MURDER CASE
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on March 25, 2026 acquitted two men who had been sentenced to death in a double murder case, allowing their appeals against the conviction and ordering their immediate release
MARCH 25, 2026IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: HC COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY IN LUDHIANA RAPE-MURDER CASE
The Punjab and Haryana High Court commuted the death sentence of a 28-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering a 4-year-7-month-old child in Ludhiana, the Tribune reported on March 20, 2026.
MARCH 24, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN IN CHILD TRAFFICKING CASE
A man convicted of child trafficking has had his death sentence with a two-year reprieve upheld by a higher court in Shandong province, with the ruling taking effect immediately.
MARCH 23, 2026TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Advocacy on the case of James Broadnax
Demarius Cummings confessed "his" murders
MARCH 23, 2026NevadaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Nevada. Former death row inmate Michael Domingues released
- MARCH 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 Protesters Hanged in Qom on March 19
Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi
- MARCH 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Exclusive Report on Political Prisoners on Death Row
MARCH 19, 2026JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: COURT RULES KYOANI KILLER'S WITHDRAWAL OF DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL WAS VALID
The Osaka High Court ruled on March 17, 2026 that a defendant's withdrawal of his appeal against a death sentence in the Kyoto Animation arson-murder case is valid.
- MARCH 17, 2026EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: COURT OF CASSATION UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR ‘TAGAMOA KILLER’
Egypt’s Court of Cassation issued a final and irrevocable ruling on March 15, 2026 upholding the death sentence for Karim Selim, known as the “Tagamoa killer,” for murdering three women and disposing their bodies in desert areas.
MARCH 17, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: TWO BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DOUBLE DEATH PENALTY
Dera Ghazi Khan District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Abbas on March 14, 2026 delivered a verdict in a double murder case, sentencing two brothers to two death penalties each and a total fine of Rs2 million.
MARCH 16, 2026VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 4 GET DEATH PENALTY IN HO CHI MINH CITY'S DRUG TRAFFICKING RING
The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on March 12, 2026 sentenced four defendants to death for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking ring in the city.
MARCH 16, 2026TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR BABATI MAN OVER STEPSON’S MURDER
The Court of Appeal of Tanzania on March 16, 2026 upheld the death sentence for Emmanuel Safari, a resident of the Babati District.
- MARCH 10, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING, ARMED ROBBERY IN KWARA
Justice Ahmed Aliyu Gegele of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on March 5, 2026 sentenced two men to death by hanging for kidnapping and armed robbery, among other offences.
- MARCH 9, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Costs and the Death Penalty
A DPIC study
MARCH 9, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SUPREME COURT ACQUITS FATHER ACCUSED OF POISONING SON, OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a man who was sentenced to death for allegedly poisoning his young son, declaring the decisions of the High Court and Trial Court null and void, Dunya News reported on March 9, 2026.
MARCH 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw report on violations of women’s rights
At least 250 women killed during the January protests
MARCH 5, 2026OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Derrick Jamison wrongfully imprisoned in 1985 murder case, judge rules
Can now seek compensation from the state
MARCH 4, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: PASTOR TO DIE BY HANGING FOR KILLING A’IBOM LANDLORD
The Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo –Ifa Ikot Okpon Branch, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging, Punch reported on February 21, 2026.
MARCH 3, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER HAIKOU PARTY CHIEF GETS DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE
Luo Zengbin, former Party chief of Haikou, the capital city of South China's Hainan province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in the province on February 28, 2026 for taking bribes worth hundreds of millions of yuan.
- MARCH 2, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: HUSBAND SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR WIFE’S MURDER IN BHATARA
A Dhaka court on February 25, 2026 sentenced Jibon Hossain Mukul to death for the murder of his wife, Fahima Begum, in the capital’s Bhatara area 13 years ago.
MARCH 2, 2026AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Michael Sockwell, on death row since 1990, to get new trial
- FEBRUARY 28, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING EX-GIRLFRIEND' S THREE-YEAR OLD SON
The Klang High Court on February 27, 2026 sentenced S. Davandrakumar, 33, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s three-year-old son in 2021.
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURTS CONCLUDE TRIALS OF TWO CRIMINAL GANGS FROM NORTHERN MYANMAR, 16 SENTENCED TO DEATH
Chinese courts have concluded the trials of two major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court said on February 26, 2026.
- FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - The 109th Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
FEBRUARY 24, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Melvin Trotter, 65, Black, was executed on February 24
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN -Two Kurdish political prisoners, Mohammad Faraji and Raouf Sheikh Maroufi, sentenced to death
Arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) protests