Death sentences
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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 19, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: 11 ISIS MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR PLOTTING ATTACKS ON STATE
Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced 11 members of an ISIS cell to death on April 7, 2026 for plotting attacks on state institutions.
APRIL 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Raouf Sheikh Ahmadi and Mohammad Faraji Sentenced to Death
Kurdish Protesters
APRIL 16, 2026OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Charles Maxwell’s Death Sentence overturned
Under State’s Serious Mental Illness Law
APRIL 16, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Death Sentences for 18-20 Year-Olds at 20-Year Low
APRIL 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 Protesters Sentenced to Death
Majid Nasiri, Shahab Dadkhah + 1
APRIL 15, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: BAGHDAD COURT MANDATES DEATH FOR FIVE DRUG TRAFFICKERS
An Iraqi court has sentenced five drug traffickers to death after convicting them of possessing large quantities of narcotics, the Supreme Judicial Council revealed on April 15, 2026.
APRIL 13, 2026TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR CARPENTER IN LOVER’S MURDER CASE
The Court of Appeal in Arusha, Tanzania, on April 10, 2026, dismissed the appeal of Alex Julius, upholding the death sentence previously handed down by the High Court.
APRIL 13, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 protesters sentenced to death
Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad, and Kourosh Zamaninejad
APRIL 10, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Shelby Nealy sentenced to death
Following the jury's recommendation
APRIL 10, 2026NebraskaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Nebraska. Jason Jones sentenced to death
APRIL 9, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: TWO EX-COPS TO BE HANGED IN ABU SAYED KILLING CASE
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on April 9, 2026 sentenced two former policemen to death and others to varying jail terms in a crimes against humanity case filed over the killing of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) student Abu Sayed.
APRIL 8, 2026TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. James Broadnax's appeal rejected
APRIL 8, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTYSHEIKH HASINA ASKS BANGLADESH TRIBUNAL TO SET ASIDE DEATH SENTENCE, SEEKS FAIR TRIAL
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has demanded in a legal communication to Bangladeshi authorities that the death sentence given to her by a tribunal last year be set aside as “legally void”, and that any further proceedings against her be conducted in
APRIL 7, 2026South KoreaDEATH PENALTYSOUTH KOREA: DEATH-ROW KILLER LEE U-CHEOL DIES IN PRISON FROM CANCER
Lee U-cheol, a 'long-unexecuted death-row inmate' who killed a member trying to defect and the member's partner, died of illness while serving his sentence.
APRIL 7, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Race of Victim Effect and the Death Penalty
Killing a white person is a more serious offence than killing a black person
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohsen Eslamkhah, 19-year-old protester, sentenced to death
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yaghoub Karimpour faces imminent execution
APRIL 5, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast Executed
January 2026 Protesters
APRIL 3, 2026North CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - North Carolina. Branson Raye Lambert Sentenced to Death
APRIL 2, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: THREE CONVICTS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN 3 MURDER CASES
Pakistani Sessions courts have handed down death sentences to three accused in separate murder cases, while also awarding additional punishments under various legal provisions, The News Pakistan reported on April 2, 2026.
APRIL 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Teenage Protester Amirhossein Hatami Hanged on April 2
84 Days After Arrest
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 PENALTY
NIGERIA: 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