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
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES FOR 4 MILITANTS IN JAPANESE NATIONAL KUNIO HOSHI'S MUDER
The High Court has affirmed the death sentences for four militants of the outlawed Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, or JMB, for the murder of a Japanese national in Rangpur in 2015.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING AND KILLING A JOB-SEEKER
Akwa Ibom State High Court, sitting in Uyo, on 4 August 2022 sentenced to death Uduak-Abasi Akpan for the murder of jobseeker Iniubong Umoren.
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2022ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: EX-VICE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH TWO-YEAR REPRIEVE
Sun Lijun, former Chinese vice minister of public security, on 23 September 2022 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking more than 646 million yuan of bribes, manipulating the stock market, and illegally possessing firearms, according t
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER SENIOR OFFICIAL FU ZHENGHUA SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE
Former senior official Fu Zhenghua on 22 September 2022 was sentenced to
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: TWO GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING SIX OF FAMILY IN RAJASTHAN
A court in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on 6 August 2022 sentenced to death two men for murdering a couple and their four children in the district seven years ago.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2022ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN WHO ARRANGED GIRLFRIEND'S MURDER SENTENCED TO DEATH
A man in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, who lured his girlfriend to faraway Yunnan province and then asked two accomplices to kill her, was sentenced to death in Kunming, Yunnan on 20 September 2022.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MOTHER, LOVER SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER KILLING CHILDREN
A 26-year-old woman and her lover on 17 September 2022 were both sentenced to death by hanging in Egypt after being found guilty of killing her three children and attempting the murder of her husband, local media reported.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POISONING HER OWN CHILDREN
Thailand’s Criminal Court sentenced a woman to death on 15 September 2022 after finding her guilty of poisoning her own 2-year-old son and 4-year-old adopted daughter with an abrasive substance, to make them sick so she could appeal to the public for dona
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: DEATH ROW INMATE DANG VAN HIEN GETS REDUCED SENTENCE
Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has commuted the death sentence of Dang Van Hien and reduced it to life in prison, Hien’s wife, Mai Thi Khuyen, told RFA on 15 September 2022.
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2022LibyaDEATH PENALTY
LIBYAN CONVERT SENTENCED TO DEATH UNDER CONTROVERSIAL APOSTASY LAW
Libyan authorities sentenced an unidentified young man to death, according to Middle East Concern, based on a loophole in an apostasy law.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: PASTOR, 1 OTHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING BOY, BURYING HEAD ON ALTAR
An Ikeja Special Offences Court on 9 August 2022 sentenced one Pastor Erinmole Adetokunbo and one Adedoyin Oyekanmi to death for killing a seven-year-old boy for ritual.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: THREE GET DEATH FOR MURDER IN BRAHMANBARIA
A Brahmanbaria court on 12 September 2022 sentenced three people to death and jailed another for life over the murder of Sharif Khan, a native of Akhaura's Chanpur village, in 2015.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2022NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: POPULAR TRADITIONAL WRESTLER TO DIE BY HANGING AFTER POUNDING WIFE TO DEATH
A high court sitting in Adamawa state on 16 August 2022 convicted and sentenced popular traditional wrestler, Thankyou Grim, to death by hanging for using pestle to kill his wife in 2018 in Adamawa State.
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2013 MURDER IN CHANDPUR
Four men were sentenced to death on 23 August 2022 for the murder of a woman in Chandpur’s Matlab South Upazila in 2013.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2022Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER
A man who was found guilty for rape and killing his sister-in-law was on 10 August 2022 sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court.
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: TWO RECEIVE DEATH FOR THROWING DRUG-FUELED PARTIES AT HANOI MENTAL HOSPITAL
Two people in Hanoi were sentenced to death on 31 August 2022 after throwing drug-related parties and selling/storing narcotics inside a mental hospital.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 5 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING TEENAGER IN KHULNA
A Khulna tribunal on 7 September 2022 sentenced five persons to death in addition to fining Tk20,000 to each for raping a teenage girl in Khalishpur of the district in 2011.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: 82-YEAR-OLD MAN WITH 12 WIVES, 60 CHILDREN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN AKWA IBOM
An 82-year-old Village Head of Efen Ibom, Ika Local Government Area Akwa Ibom State, Chief Essien Matthew Odiong has been sentenced to death by hanging for murder, Idomavoice reported on 13 August 2022.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 5 JMB MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN CHATTOGRAM
A Chattogram court on 17 August 2022 sentenced five Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants to death in a case filed for bombings at two mosques inside Bangladesh Navy’s Issa Khan Base in Chattogram in 2015.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 15 AWARDED DEATH FOR KILLING PRISONER IN JHARKHAND JAIL
Fifteen people were sentenced to death by Jamshedpur court on 18 August 2022 for killing an inmate of the Ghaghidih Central Jail during a clash between two groups in 2019.
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2022IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 2 Iranian women sentenced to death for their sexual orientation
Zahra Sedighi Hamedani and Elham Choobdar
SEPTEMBER 5, 2022Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: PRESIDENT INFORMS THE SUPREME COURT THAT HE WILL NOT SIGN THE DEATH SENTENCES
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 31 August 2022 informed the Supreme Court through the Attorney General that he will not sign the implementation of the death penalty.
SEPTEMBER 4, 2022EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: 5 FRIENDS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
The Criminal Court in Egypt has sentenced five defendants who are friends to death by hanging, and sentenced another to life imprisonment, Middle East Monitor reported on 31 August 2022, citing Al-Watan newspaper.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRIVING DRUG CART AT POLICE
Pham Van Tang, 32 years old, was sentenced to death on 26 August 2022 in Vietnam for driving a motorbike carrying 9 kg of drugs and running at police while under siege in Vu Quang district.
- AUGUST 31, 2022EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: JUDGE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING JOURNALIST WIFE
An Egyptian criminal court sentenced a judge to death on 16 August 2022 for the murder of his wife, in what is one of the most high-profile murder cases in the country in recent months.
AUGUST 31, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Hossein Alizadeh was actually a minor
AUGUST 30, 2022SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE OF ISIS TERRORISTS IN PUNTLAND
Four ISIS members failed to have their death sentence overturned in the Appeals Court in the Puntland state of Somalia, GAROWE ONLINE reported on 19 August 2022.
AUGUST 30, 2022ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: U.S. CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER LOSES APPEAL
A U.S. citizen sentenced to death by a Chinese court for "intentional homicide" of his former girlfriend lost his appeal on 25 August 2022, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
AUGUST 28, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 2 executions in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz on August 28
Rahim Qanbarzahi (Ghanbarzehi) and Mujtabi Khadmini Nejad (Khademinejad)
AUGUST 25, 2022AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Judge Chris Comer sentenced Warren Hardy to death