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
MARCH 19, 2026JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: COURT RULES KYOANI KILLER'S WITHDRAWAL OF DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL WAS VALID
The Osaka High Court ruled on March 17, 2026 that a defendant's withdrawal of his appeal against a death sentence in the Kyoto Animation arson-murder case is valid.
MARCH 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 Protesters Hanged in Qom on March 19
Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi
MARCH 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Exclusive Report on Political Prisoners on Death Row
MARCH 17, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: TWO BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DOUBLE DEATH PENALTY
Dera Ghazi Khan District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Abbas on March 14, 2026 delivered a verdict in a double murder case, sentencing two brothers to two death penalties each and a total fine of Rs2 million.
MARCH 17, 2026EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: COURT OF CASSATION UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR ‘TAGAMOA KILLER’
Egypt’s Court of Cassation issued a final and irrevocable ruling on March 15, 2026 upholding the death sentence for Karim Selim, known as the “Tagamoa killer,” for murdering three women and disposing their bodies in desert areas.
MARCH 16, 2026VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 4 GET DEATH PENALTY IN HO CHI MINH CITY'S DRUG TRAFFICKING RING
The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on March 12, 2026 sentenced four defendants to death for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking ring in the city.
MARCH 16, 2026TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR BABATI MAN OVER STEPSON’S MURDER
The Court of Appeal of Tanzania on March 16, 2026 upheld the death sentence for Emmanuel Safari, a resident of the Babati District.
MARCH 10, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING, ARMED ROBBERY IN KWARA
Justice Ahmed Aliyu Gegele of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on March 5, 2026 sentenced two men to death by hanging for kidnapping and armed robbery, among other offences.
MARCH 9, 2026PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SUPREME COURT ACQUITS FATHER ACCUSED OF POISONING SON, OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a man who was sentenced to death for allegedly poisoning his young son, declaring the decisions of the High Court and Trial Court null and void, Dunya News reported on March 9, 2026.
MARCH 9, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Costs and the Death Penalty
A DPIC study
MARCH 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw report on violations of women’s rights
At least 250 women killed during the January protests
MARCH 5, 2026OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Derrick Jamison wrongfully imprisoned in 1985 murder case, judge rules
Can now seek compensation from the state
MARCH 4, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: PASTOR TO DIE BY HANGING FOR KILLING A’IBOM LANDLORD
The Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo –Ifa Ikot Okpon Branch, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging, Punch reported on February 21, 2026.
MARCH 3, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER HAIKOU PARTY CHIEF GETS DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE
Luo Zengbin, former Party chief of Haikou, the capital city of South China's Hainan province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in the province on February 28, 2026 for taking bribes worth hundreds of millions of yuan.
MARCH 2, 2026BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: HUSBAND SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR WIFE’S MURDER IN BHATARA
A Dhaka court on February 25, 2026 sentenced Jibon Hossain Mukul to death for the murder of his wife, Fahima Begum, in the capital’s Bhatara area 13 years ago.
MARCH 2, 2026AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Michael Sockwell, on death row since 1990, to get new trial
FEBRUARY 28, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING EX-GIRLFRIEND' S THREE-YEAR OLD SON
The Klang High Court on February 27, 2026 sentenced S. Davandrakumar, 33, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s three-year-old son in 2021.
FEBRUARY 26, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINESE COURTS CONCLUDE TRIALS OF TWO CRIMINAL GANGS FROM NORTHERN MYANMAR, 16 SENTENCED TO DEATH
Chinese courts have concluded the trials of two major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court said on February 26, 2026.
FEBRUARY 24, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Melvin Trotter, 65, Black, was executed on February 24
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN -Two Kurdish political prisoners, Mohammad Faraji and Raouf Sheikh Maroufi, sentenced to death
Arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) protests
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - The 109th Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: UP COUPLE GETS DEATH FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 33 CHILDREN
A couple was sentenced to death on February 20, 2026 by a court in Uttar Pradesh after being convicted in a case of sexual assault of 33 children, some of them as young as three years old.
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Protests: 19-year-old Mohammad Amin Biglari sentenced to death
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - At least 10 men executed on February 23
- FEBRUARY 19, 2026KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA: MACHARIA SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DEFILING, KILLING 7-YEAR-OLD TAMARA KABURA
Nyeri High Court on February 19, 2026 sentenced Nicholas Julius Macharia to death after he pleaded guilty to the brutal defilement and murder of seven-year-old Tamara Blessing Kabura.
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 26 Protesters Sentenced to Death, Hundreds More at Risk
FEBRUARY 18, 2026KuwaitDEATH PENALTYKUWAIT: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER STABBING FATHER OVER CIGARETTE ARGUMENT
A Pakistani man was sentenced to death on February 16, 2026 in Kuwait after being convicted of fatally stabbing his father during a domestic dispute in the Farwaniya Governorate.
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: FEMALE DRIVER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING POLICE STATION CHIEF
A female motorist who fatally dragged the head of a police station to his death while trying to evade a roadside check in 2024 was sentenced to death by the New Taipei District Court on February 11, 2026.
- FEBRUARY 16, 2026IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: 3 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR GANG RAPE OF ISRAELI TOURIST, MURDER NEAR HAMPI
A sessions court in Karnataka's Koppal district on February 16, 2026 sentenced three men to death after convicting them in the gang rape of two women, including an Israeli national, and the killing of a male tourist.
FEBRUARY 15, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Hundreds of women pledge allegiance to Wade Wilson