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 3, 2003KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev made a radio statement...
Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev made a radio statement regarding the extension of the death penalty moratorium until the end of 2003
- JANUARY 1, 2003Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
In Palestine three types of legislation are applied
In Palestine three types of legislation are applied
- JANUARY 1, 2003EgyptDEATH PENALTY
Military and state security courts in Egypt sentenced...
Military and state security courts in Egypt sentenced more than 90 people to death since militant groups like al-Gama'a al-Islamiya took up arms against the state in 1992, and approximately 70 were executed, Reuters reported in March 2000
- JANUARY 1, 2003MoroccoDEATH PENALTY
The last execution in Morocco was carried out in 1993
The last execution in Morocco was carried out in 1993
- DECEMBER 28, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Ah Thwe, 19, a Burmese man, was sentenced to death...
Ah Thwe, 19, a Burmese man, was sentenced to death by the Provincial Court for killing his American boss and four other people
- DECEMBER 28, 2002Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
Ah Thwe, 19, a Burmese man, was sentenced to death...
Ah Thwe, 19, a Burmese man, was sentenced to death in Thailand by the Provincial Court for killing his American boss and four other people
- DECEMBER 25, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Lu Zongda, 43, was sentenced to death for raping eight...
Lu Zongda, 43, was sentenced to death for raping eight teenage girls and bribing police to call off their investigation, state media said
- DECEMBER 24, 2002United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death in Sudan by the Ras Al...
A man was sentenced to death in Sudan by the Ras Al Khaimah Sharia Court for murder
- DECEMBER 24, 2002SudanDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death by the Ras Al Khaimah...
A man was sentenced to death by the Ras Al Khaimah Sharia Court for murder
- DECEMBER 23, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Four activists of the banned group, Al-Umma, were sentenced...
Four activists of the banned group, Al-Umma, were sentenced to death and four others to life imprisonment by the second fast track court judge, R
- DECEMBER 21, 2002AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
Terrorism expert Paul Buchanan said that International...
Terrorism expert Paul Buchanan said that International criminals will consider taking refuge in New Zealand because of a law that prevents the deportation of anyone who faces the death penalty in their home country, according to an editorial in The Austra
- DECEMBER 21, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
Terrorism expert Paul Buchanan said that International...
Terrorism expert Paul Buchanan said that International criminals will consider taking refuge in New Zealand because of a law that prevents the deportation of anyone who faces the death penalty in their home country, according to an editorial in The Austra
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Kashmiri separatists were planning...
It was reported that Kashmiri separatists were planning protests against the death sentences awarded to three Kashmiris convicted for the Parliament attack case
- DECEMBER 19, 2002OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
A Mayes County judge sentenced Steven Thacker to death...
A Mayes County judge sentenced Steven Thacker to death for fatally stabbing and strangling a young woman during a three-state crime spree nearly 3 years ago
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistan-based militants promised to step up attacks...
Pakistan-based militants promised to step up attacks in Indian Kashmir to protest the death sentences handed to Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru on December 18 for their part in a deadly attack on the Indian Parliament
- DECEMBER 18, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Kunihiko Hamakawa, 42, was sentenced to death by the...
Kunihiko Hamakawa, 42, was sentenced to death by the Tsu District Court for murdering two men and stealing approximately 12 million yen in Mie Prefecture in 1994
- DECEMBER 16, 2002IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Thirty former condemned men from around the United...
Thirty former condemned men from around the United States marched against a biting wind in a 37-mile relay from Joliet to Chicago, Illinois
- DECEMBER 11, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Death row academic Hashem Aghajari filed a complaint...
Death row academic Hashem Aghajari filed a complaint against the Judiciary with the Majlis Article 90 Commission, IRNA quoted the press as saying
- DECEMBER 8, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six members of a gang that smuggled more than 100 kilograms...
Six members of a gang that smuggled more than 100 kilograms of heroin into China were sentenced to death in Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, the official Xinhua News Agency reported
- DECEMBER 6, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported by Xinhua News Agency that fifty members...
It was reported by Xinhua News Agency that fifty members of three criminal rings were sentenced to death or various prison terms by the No
- DECEMBER 5, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Chinese court sentenced to death two ethnic Tibetans...
A Chinese court sentenced to death two ethnic Tibetans accused of setting off a series of bombs in the southwest of the country near Tibet
- DECEMBER 4, 2002JordanDEATH PENALTY
Yasir Abu-Shinnar, who was convicted of the 1994 killing...
Yasir Abu-Shinnar, who was convicted of the 1994 killing of a Jordanian diplomat in Beirut by the State Security Court, was executed at Swaqa prison at dawn, official sources said
- DECEMBER 4, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi King Fahd commuted the death sentences of 17...
Saudi King Fahd commuted the death sentences of 17 Saudis convicted of rioting, ordering them to instead serve 10 years in jail, the Interior Ministry said
- DECEMBER 2, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A witch doctor found guilty of sacrificing a nine-year-old...
A witch doctor found guilty of sacrificing a nine-year-old boy six years ago was sentenced to death by a Jharkhand court
- NOVEMBER 30, 2002BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A man whose name was reported as Mukul was condemned...
A man whose name was reported as Mukul was condemned to death for killing a policeman
- NOVEMBER 29, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Legal experts declared themselves divided over the...
Legal experts declared themselves divided over the announcement made by deputy prime minister L K Advani that rapists should be awarded capital punishment
- NOVEMBER 28, 2002IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
The Jakarta Post newspaper reported that victims and...
The Jakarta Post newspaper reported that victims and the families of those involved in the Bali bomb attack in October said that death is the only fitting punishment for such an evil, barbaric deed
- NOVEMBER 28, 2002TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
Kazakhstan's Supreme Court sentenced Zarifdzhon Sattorov,...
Kazakhstan's Supreme Court sentenced Zarifdzhon Sattorov, an active member of a terrorist group to death
- NOVEMBER 28, 2002ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
The Lusaka High Court sentenced to death Evans Mazuba...
The Lusaka High Court sentenced to death Evans Mazuba and sent his two younger brothers to prison for the murder of an eight-year-old girl
- NOVEMBER 26, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced two...
A court in the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced two men to death for murdering a used car dealer in Tehran