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
NOVEMBER 27, 2022AlgeriaDEATH PENALTYALGERIA: 49 DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DJAMEL BENSMAIL’S MURDER
Algeria’s Criminal Court of First Instance in Algiers on 24 November 2022 sentenced 49 people involved in the murder of Djamel Bensmail to the death penalty.
- NOVEMBER 24, 2022SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
SOMALIA: POLICE OFFICER WHO KILLED MAN OVER CIGARETTE LIGHTER GETS DEATH PENALTY
A Somali military court has sentenced to death a police officer convicted of killing a civilian following an argument over a cigarette lighter, The East African reported on 24 November 2022.
NOVEMBER 22, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: TWO MILITANTS CONVICTED TO DEATH IN DIPAN MURDER CASE FLEE DHAKA COURT LOCK-UP
Two members of the banned militant group Ansar al-Islam, who were sentenced to death in Jagriti Publications publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan murder case, escaped from the lock-up of Dhaka court on November 20, 2022.
NOVEMBER 21, 2022Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SMUGGLING DRUGS
A Saudi national has been sentenced to death for smuggling banned amphetamine tablets near the country’s northern border with Jordan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on 20 November 2022 citing the Ministry of Interior.
- NOVEMBER 20, 2022IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Iran sentences to death 6th person over protests
NOVEMBER 17, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: DUAL NATIONAL WAJIHA SWATI’S HUSBAND SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
Rizwan Habib, the widower of and prime accused in the murder of Wajiha Swati, was sentenced to death and 10 years imprisonment on 12 November 2022.
NOVEMBER 17, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 2 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN CUMILLA FOR 2018 RAPE FOLLOWED BY MURDER
A tribunal in Cumilla on 8 November 2022 sentenced two men to death for killing a 10-year-old girl after rape in Monohargonj upazila in 2018.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2022IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Three protestors were sentenced to death
Arrested in Tehran
NOVEMBER 16, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 4 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DRUGS CASE IN GOPALGANJ
A Gopalganj court on 13 November 2022 has given death sentence to four people in a drugs scase.
NOVEMBER 15, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: TWO GET DEATH FOR ATTACK TARGETING CHINESE ENGINEERS
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has awarded death sentences to two men accused of killing 13 people in a suicide attack last year, including nine Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project.
NOVEMBER 14, 2022KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STEALING FROM A BODA BODA RIDER
Moses Kirimi, a man who posed as a passenger and stole from a Boda Boda Rider has been sentenced to death in Kenya, Nairobi Gossip Club reported on 3 November 2022.
NOVEMBER 14, 2022AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Jimmy Spencer sentenced to death
NOVEMBER 13, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SUPREME COURT ACQUITS 3 MEN ON DEATH ROW FOR DELHI TEEN’S RAPE-MURDER
The Supreme Court of India on 7 November 2022 acquitted three men sentenced to death in the brutal gangrape-cum-murder of a 19-year-old woman in Delhi’s Chhawla in 2012.
NOVEMBER 12, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three Men Executed in Shiraz on November 12
Vahid Pakzad, Keyvan Tajadod and an unidentified man
- NOVEMBER 10, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY OF RAPE, MURDER CONVICT WHO SPENT 10-YRS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN JAIL
The Supreme Court of India on 4 November 2022 commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for the rape and murder of a widow in 1998, noting he was in solitary confinement in jail for about 10 years.
NOVEMBER 9, 2022MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: 24 YEAR-OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF DENTAL TECHNOLOGIST
The High Court of Seremban, Malaysia, found a 24-year-old man guilty of killing a dental technologist four years ago and gave him the death penalty on 27 October 2022, Bernama reported.
NOVEMBER 9, 2022TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Taylor Parker sentenced to death
- NOVEMBER 8, 2022IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Iranian Protester Handed Death Sentence
Mahan Sedarat
- NOVEMBER 7, 2022GhanaDEATH PENALTY
GHANA: PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO WANTS DEATH PENALTY ABOLISHED
President Akufo-Addo has joined the campaign to get the death penalty expunged from the country’s laws.
- NOVEMBER 7, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: INDIAN-ORIGIN MAN ACQUITTED AFTER GETTING DEATH PENALTY VIA ZOOM
A 39-year-old Indian-origin Malaysian who was sentenced to death via Zoom for drug trafficking in May 2020 was on 31 October 2022 acquitted by Singapore's Court of Appeal, saying the prosecution did not prove its case.
NOVEMBER 3, 2022MissouriDEATH PENALTYUSA - Missouri. Richard Emery formally sentenced to death
OCTOBER 27, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MADARIPUR MURDER CASE
A court in Madaripur on 19 October 2022 sentenced three people to death and six others to life imprisonment for killing a trader at Sadar upazila in the district in 2003.
OCTOBER 26, 2022TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Robert Solis sentenced to death
OCTOBER 26, 2022IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ANTI-REGIME ACTIVIST'S KILLING
An Iraqi court has sentenced a man to death over the 2019 killing of an activist who had taken part in anti-government protests that year, the judiciary said on 25 October 2022.
- OCTOBER 25, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: 10 GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING THREE CATTLE TRADERS IN BANDARBAN
A court in Bangladesh sentenced 10 defendants to death on October 24, 2022 in the case of the murders of three cattle traders among four people on the Alikadam-Thanchi route in the Bandarban hill district.
- OCTOBER 25, 2022JapanDEATH PENALTY
DEATH ROW PRISONERS LAUNCH LEGAL CHALLENGE TO JAPAN’S NO-NOTICE EXECUTIONS
Two prisoners sentenced to death in Japan have launched a legal challenge against how the country applies the death penalty, Vatican News reported on 24 October 2022.
OCTOBER 25, 2022FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Mark Wilson sentenced to death
- OCTOBER 24, 2022EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: 9 FROM ONE FAMILY SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
An Egyptian court has sentenced nine members of one family to death after convicting them of murdering a man and mutilating his body, Gulf News reported on 22 October 2022 citing local media report.
OCTOBER 24, 2022FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Death sentence, again, for Allen Cox
OCTOBER 22, 2022AlgeriaDEATH PENALTYALGERIA: JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH PENALTY
An Algerian court handed a death penalty sentence this week to journalist Abderrahmane Semmar known as Abdou Semmar, Morocco World News reported on 20 October 2022.