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
OCTOBER 22, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three Baloch prisoners executed on 22 October
Mohammad Zarakzahi in Zabol, and Juma Gumshadzahi and Habil Shahnawazi in Zahedan
- OCTOBER 20, 2022IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA MULLS INTRODUCTION OF A ‘PROBATIONARY’ DEATH PENALTY
When Indonesia recently unveiled the latest plans to overhaul its ageing Criminal Code, one of the articles that caught everyone’s eye was the one about the death penalty.
OCTOBER 20, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: GIRL STRANGLED TO DEATH AFTER RAPE, FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in Bangladesh on 18 October 2022 sentenced four people to death in the case of strangulation of a girl after rape in Narayanganj. Meanwhile, one person has been sentenced to life and one person has been acquitted.
OCTOBER 19, 2022MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: PARALYSED MECHANIC ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A mechanic who became paralysed from the waist down while in prison has escaped the gallows for drug trafficking committed in Malaysia three years ago, Free Malaysia Today reported on 19 October 2022.
OCTOBER 19, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN RAJASTHAN FOR RAPING, KILLING 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A court in Rajasthan’s Pali district on 15 October 2022 awarded death sentence to a man for raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in January, the victim’s counsel said.
OCTOBER 18, 2022NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING THEIR FRIEND AND STEALING HIS CAR IN OGUN
A High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun state, on October 14, 2022 sentenced two men, John Inyere and Chibuike Ukwa, to death by hanging for armed robbery and murder of their friend Chidi Nwite.
OCTOBER 17, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 30-YEAR-OLD MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING THREE-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A 30-year-old Hanoian was sentenced to death on 13 October 2022 for killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter by hammering nails into her head.
- OCTOBER 16, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DR CONGO: ARMY OFFICERS GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF 2 CHINESE MINE WORKERS
Six people, including two army colonels, were condemned to death by a Democratic Republic of the Congo military court on 14 October 2022 for the murder of two Chinese mine workers.
- OCTOBER 15, 2022Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
GAZA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ‘COLLABORATION’ WITH ISRAEL
A court in Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip sentenced two men to death on 13 October 2022 for "collaboration" with Israel.
OCTOBER 13, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: PRESIDENT REJECTS MERCY APPEAL OF DEATH ROW CONVICT
Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi on 13 October 2022 rejected the mercy appeal of a person convicted in murder and bank robbery case.
OCTOBER 13, 2022FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Nikolas Cruz sentenced to Life Without Parole
For killing 17 people in Parkland School Shootings
OCTOBER 12, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ANDHRA PRADESH FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT ON MINOR GIRL
The POCSO Court of Andhra Pradesh on 10 October 2022 awarded death sentence to J. Anil (30) who sexually assaulted a minor girl at Nunna village.
OCTOBER 10, 2022Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TRIBESMEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RESISTING DISPLACEMENT
A Saudi court on 2 October 2022 sentenced three members of the Howeitat, a tribe forcibly ejected to make way for the $500 bn Neom megacity, to death for resisting displacement, a UK-based rights group has reported.
OCTOBER 10, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 7 MEN GET DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING A MYMENSINGH AL LEADER
A Dhaka court on 10 October 2022 issued the death penalty to seven persons, including a union parishad chairman, for killing a local Awami League leader in Mymensingh’s Gauripur upazila in 2020.
- OCTOBER 9, 2022IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: SUSPECT IN KILLING YAZIDI MAN, DAUGHTER SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DUHOK
A court in Duhok on 5 October 2022 sentenced the suspect in the killing of a Yazidi man and his six-year-old daughter to death following a relatively swift hearing session during which the defendant admitted to the murders.
OCTOBER 4, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING A NARAYANGANJ FACTORY WORKER OVER TK 500
A court has sentenced a man to death and two others to life in prison for the murder of Mizan Sikdar Mishor, a worker at a dyeing factory at the Narayanganj Port.
OCTOBER 4, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: DRUG TRAFFICKER GETS DEATH PENALTY AFTER COURT REJECTS CLAIM THAT MOST OF HEROIN FOUND WAS GIRLFRIEND'S
A 49-year-old man has been sentenced to death in Singapore for heroin trafficking after the High Court rejected his contention that the majority of the drugs found in his apartment belonged to his 26-year-old girlfriend, The Straits Times reported on Octo
OCTOBER 3, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SON CONVICTED TO DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING PARENTS IN DUKKI BALOCHISTAN
A court in Balochistan’s Dukki district convicted a son of the death sentence for killing his parents, Quetta Voice reported on 30 September 2022.
OCTOBER 3, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: CHIEF ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR EMBEZZLING HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DONG TO GAMBLE
After a week of deliberation, on the afternoon of 30 September 2022, the People’s Court of Dong Thap province sentenced defendant Nguyen Trung Thanh, former chief accountant of Pilmico Vietnam Co. Ltd.
- OCTOBER 2, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR GIRL
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Hyderabad on 29 September 2022 awarded death sentence to the prime accused, and 7-years imprisonment to the co-accused in the rape and murder case of a girl child.
OCTOBER 2, 2022MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: EX-BIRD’S NEST SELLER FREED OF DEATH SENTENCE
A former bird’s nest seller has been freed of the death penalty as the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya set aside his conviction and sentence on two drug trafficking charges, Free Malaysia Today reported on 30 September 2022.
OCTOBER 2, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 prisoners executed in Shiraz prison on October 2
Hashim Mahmoodzadeh, Yusuf Ali Chalani, Abbas Fatahalian, Haider Ramezani
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2022United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Report: Black People 7.5 Times More Likely to Be Wrongfully Convicted of Murder than Whites
SEPTEMBER 29, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SC ACQUITS DEATH ROW CONVICT FOR RAPE, MURDER, CRITICIZES LOWER COURTS FOR LACK OF SCRUTINY
"Court cannot make someone a victim of injustice to compensate for the injustice to the victim of a crime", the Supreme Court on 28 September 2022 said while acquitting a death row convict for the alleged rape and murder of a six-year-old.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2022ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: OFFICIAL GETS DEATH FOR CORRUPTION INVOLVING 3B YUAN
Li Jianping, a former senior Party official in the economic and technological development zone in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was sentenced to death for multiple crimes on 27 September 2022.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMES TRIBUNAL SENTENCES KHALILUR TO DEATH
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on September 13, 2022 sentenced Mohammad Khalilur Rahman from Durgapur Upazilla of Netrakona to death for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 2-YR-OLD AFTER ABDUCTION IN SIRAJGANJ
A Sirajganj court on September 27, 2022 sentenced a man to death in a case filed for killing a two-year-old boy after an abduction.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER IN JANJGIR CHAMPA
A court in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir Champa district on 19 September 2022 sentenced two persons to death for the murder of a gram panchayat member in 2021.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2022GhanaDEATH PENALTYGHANA: 34-YEAR-OLD MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING
Cape Coast High Court in the Central Region of Ghana has sentenced a 34-year-old man to death by hanging for murder, Ghana Web reported on 20 September 2022.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: DEATH SENTENCE AWARDED IN DOUBLE MURDER CASE
Peshawar Child Protection Court (CPC) has awarded death sentence to a man who brutally killed a seven-year-old girl and a woman in tehsil Shabqadar, district Charsadda, sources said on 25 September 2022.