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
- DECEMBER 13, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: SATKHIRA MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE
A Satkhira court on 12 December 2021 awarded the death penalty to a man for murdering his wife eleven years ago.
DECEMBER 9, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 20 STUDENTS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
Bangladesh sentenced 20 university students to death on 8 December 2021 for the brutal 2019 murder of a young man who criticised the government on social media.
DECEMBER 9, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: RAJSHAHI COURT SENTENCES 9 TO DEATH, 22 TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDER OF CHHATRA LEAGUE LEADER
A Rajshahi court has sentenced nine people, including a former Rajshahi city councillor, to death and 22 others to life in prison for the murder of Chhatra League leader and apprentice lawyer Shahin Alam aka Shahin Shah.
DECEMBER 9, 2021OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Bigler Stouffer executed on December 9, 2021
The 11th inmate executed this year in the US
DECEMBER 7, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: MAN TO DIE BY HANGING FOR ROBBING, KILLING HIS OWN BROTHER
An Ado Ekiti High Court on 6 December 2021 sentenced 24-year-old Ebenezer Olorunleke to death by hanging for killing his own brother.
DECEMBER 6, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING HIS WIFE, SIX CHILDREN
An Egyptian criminal court sentenced a man to death on 6 December 2021 for slaying his wife and six children at their home in a village in Fayoum governorate, southwest of Cairo, in May over accumulated debts.
- DECEMBER 5, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN ESCAPES GALLOWS IN SODOMY OF BOY WHO LATER DIED
The Madras high court on 3 December 2021 commuted the death sentence awarded to a man to 30 years of imprisonment in a case where the man had sexually assaulted and caused the death of a 17-year-old mentally challenged boy in Pudukottai district in 2019.
DECEMBER 5, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - November 2019 Protester Abbas Daris Sentenced to Death
And Brother Mohsen to Life Imprisonment
DECEMBER 2, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: EVANS THE KIDNAPPER SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING
Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans the kidnapper, was reportedly sentenced to death by hanging by a Lagos High Court on 25 November 2021.
DECEMBER 2, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 13 TO WALK GALLOWS FOR KILLING SIX STUDENTS AT AMINBAZAR
A Dhaka court on 2 December 2021 awarded death sentence to 13 people and life imprisonment to 19 others on charges of killing six students at Aminbazar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka 10 years ago.
DECEMBER 1, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING UNCLE OVER FATHER’S PROPERTY IN AKWA IBOM
Two men, Joseph Etim and Christopher Macaulay on 24 November 2021 were sentenced to death by hanging for killing their uncle, Imo Edet, over landed property in Akwa Ibom.
- NOVEMBER 30, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Micheal Dale Iervolino sentenced to death
NOVEMBER 30, 2021SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DARFUR FOR RAPING 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A court on 28 November 2021 sentenced a young man to death by hanging for raping 8-year-old girl in Nyala, South Darfur.
NOVEMBER 29, 2021IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TERRORISM IN NAJAF
Najaf Criminal Court sentenced a defendant to the capital penalty for charges related to terrorism on 28 November 2021.
NOVEMBER 29, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Donnie Abernathy sentenced to death
NOVEMBER 25, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN RECEIVES DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING DAUGHTER
A local court in the Hafizabad District of Punjab on 24 November 2021 sentenced a man to capital punishment for raping his own daughter.
- NOVEMBER 24, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
NORTH KOREAN SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER STUDENTS CAUGHT WATCHING SQUID GAME
North Korea has sentenced to death a man who smuggled and sold copies of the Netflix series “Squid Game”.
NOVEMBER 24, 2021SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: PUNTLAND COURT SENTENCES TWO AL-SHABAAB FIGHTERS TO DEATH FOR BOSSASO PRISON ATTACK
A military court in Puntland sentenced two Al-Shabaab members to death on 21 November 2021 for their role in a prison attack in Bossaso in March.
NOVEMBER 24, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Juvenile offender Arman Abdolali executed
In Rajai Shahr Prison on November 24
NOVEMBER 24, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: APEX COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY OF JMB MILITANT SALEHIN
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 23 November 2021 upheld the death penalty of Salauddin Salehin, a dreaded militant from the banned JMB, who was convicted in the killing of Goni Gomez of Jamalpur 17 years ago.
NOVEMBER 23, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY ACQUITTED
A Christian in Pakistan incarcerated for nearly 10 years on a blasphemy conviction was released from prison on 9 November 2021 after a high court acquitted him.
NOVEMBER 18, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO EX-CONVICTS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Two Vietnamese men on 10 November 2021 were sentenced to death for drug trafficking after they had just finished their previous jail terms.
- NOVEMBER 18, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Tyrone Jamaal Williams sentenced to death
- NOVEMBER 17, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: ONE GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING SISTER IN NARAIL
A Narail court on 15 November 2021 sentenced a man to death for killing his sister in 2019.
NOVEMBER 17, 2021SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: SECOND MALAYSIAN-INDIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A 39-year-old Indian origin Malaysian who was caught with a bag of drugs in 2018 was sentenced to death on 17 November 2021 by a Singapore court for trafficking.
NOVEMBER 17, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER IN EKITI
An Ekiti State high court, sitting in Ado Ekiti, has sentenced one Danjuma Fayomi Femi, 30, and Jamiu Oyediran, 30, to death for conspiracy and murder of one Adeoye Adegoke, the National Daily reported on 12 November 2021.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA RELEASES SECOND MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CHILDHOOD 'CRIMES'
Saudi authorities have released Adbullah al-Zaher, a young man who had been sentenced to death for "crimes" he allegedly committed as a child, human rights activists announced on 14 November 2021.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2021UgandaDEATH PENALTY
TWO UGANDAN SOLDIERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SOMALIA
Two Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been sentenced to death and three others to 39 years in jail for the deaths of civilians.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: FEDERAL COURT ACQUITS NIGERIAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IN 2018
A Nigerian national escaped the gallows after the Federal Court on 11 November 2021 set aside his conviction and death sentence for drug trafficking by the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Kuching, Malaysia.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: FIVE GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR KIDNAPPING, RAPING AND KILLING MINOR
An Egyptian court has sentenced five people to death for kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old girl, local media reported.