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 23, 2020PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: COP AWARDED DEATH PENALTY FOR 2018 FAKE ENCOUNTER IN KARACHI
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on 21 November 2020 sentenced a Sindh police officer to death in a case pertaining to the killing of a citizen in a dubious encounter in 2018.
NOVEMBER 21, 2020PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: ‘HABITUAL’ PAEDOPHILE SOHAIL AYAZ SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Rawalpindi trial court on 18 November 2020 sentenced ‘habitual’ paedophile Sohail Ayaz to death on three counts apart from awarding him three sentences of rigorous imprisonment for abducting and raping young boys and for recording and disseminating the
NOVEMBER 19, 2020NorwayDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: NORWEGIAN CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SOMALILAND
Norwegian citizen Saad Jidre on 18 November 2020 was sentenced to death in Hargeisa District Court in the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland.
NOVEMBER 17, 2020BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: DEATH PENALTY OF THREE UPHELD FOR MURDERING PREGNANT WOMAN
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on 17 November 2020 upheld death sentence for three people in a case lodged over the murder of a pregnant woman on Jahangirnagar University campus in 2000.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WARDEN
The Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) of Rawalpindi on 11 November 2020 awarded three times death sentence to an accused in murder of a traffic warden and a passerby.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: REBEL-RUN COURT SENTENCES 21 TO DEATH FOR SPYING FOR SAUDI-LED COALITION
A court controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on 14 November 2020 sentenced 21 men to death for allegedly spying for the Saudi-led coalition which backs the Yemeni government, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
NOVEMBER 15, 2020BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING STUDENT IN KHULNA
A court in Khulna on 9 November 2020 sentenced a man to death for killing a college student in 2012.
NOVEMBER 15, 2020SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING PREGNANT WIFE, DAUGHTER
A former property agent was sentenced to death on 12 November 2020 after he was found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife and their four-year-old daughter.
- NOVEMBER 15, 2020MaliDEATH PENALTY
MALI: JIHADIST CHIEF, 14 OTHERS, SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in Mali’s capital Bamako sentenced an Islamist militant leader and 14 other people to death on 13 November 2020 for jihadist activity in the south of the war-torn Sahel state.
NOVEMBER 10, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR MURDERS
A Lucknow court on 6 November 2020 sentenced a man to death for killing his brother, sister-in-law and their two children two and a half years ago.
NOVEMBER 7, 2020SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: MEROWE COURT SENTENCES KILLER OF GIRL CHILD TO DEATH
Merowe Criminal Court on 2 November 2020 sentenced Awad Adam Hussein to death by hanging for raping and killing the four-year girl child, Areej Samir, at Al-Gorair area, Merowe Locality.
NOVEMBER 7, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: HENGFENG BANK EX-CHAIRMAN CAI SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH TWO-YEAR REPRIEVE
A Chinese court sentenced on 6 November 2020 the former chairman of Hengfeng Bank, Cai Guohua, to death with two-year reprieve after convicting him of abuse of power, corruption, embezzlement, receiving bribes and illegal loans, the court said.
NOVEMBER 5, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: NURSE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING AND COOKING DOCTOR WHO BLACKMAILED HER INTO SEX
A nurse in China on 30 October 2020 was sentenced to death for serious theft and intentional homicide.
NOVEMBER 5, 2020SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: COURT IN PUNTLAND SENTENCES TWO MEN TO DEATH FOR RAPING AND KILLING A GIRL
A court in the semi-autonomous Somalia state of Puntland has sentenced two men to death for the rape and killing of a 14-year old girl, Somali Affairs reported on 4 November 2020.
NOVEMBER 5, 2020BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: BUS DRIVER, TWO EMPLOYEES TO DIE FOR KILLING NSU STUDENT
The driver and two other staff of a Hanif Paribahan bus on 1st November 2020 were sentenced to death for killing North South University student Saidur Rahman Payel.
- NOVEMBER 5, 2020CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A Tulare County jury voted in favor of the death penalty for Adrian Ortiz.
USA - California. A Tulare County jury voted in favor of the death penalty for Adrian Ortiz.
- NOVEMBER 4, 2020SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: MAN WHO ESCAPED THE GALLOWS FOR KILLING CNB OFFICER GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A 61-year-old man on 2 November 2020 was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in Singapore for trafficking in at least 78.77g of heroin, almost three decades after escaping the hangman’s noose for killing a Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer.
- NOVEMBER 4, 2020BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE OVER DOWRY IN BOGRA
A man, who lived with two wives, was sentenced to death on 29 October 2020 after he beat his second wife to death over dowry in Bogra in 2016.
NOVEMBER 3, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: GANG LEADER SENTENCED TO DEATH IN QINGHAI
A court in Qinghai province sentenced a leader of a mafia-style gang to death on 30 October 2020 for more than 10 crimes, including intentional homicide, and handed 38 other gang members prison terms ranging from two years to life.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2020PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERING MOTHER
A court in Attock, Pakistan, on 29 October 2020 awarded death sentence to a man for his involvement in a murder case in Rangoo Police station of Attock besides imposing fine worth Rs0.620 million.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR MAN CONVICTED FOR RAPE, MURDER OF 2-YEAR-OLD
The Supreme Court on 2 November 2020 commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty awarded to a Maharashtra man convicted of raping and killing a 2-year-old infant in 2013.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 3 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN KHULNA VAN PULLER MURDER
A Khulna court on 29 October 2020 sentenced three people to death for killing a van puller in Khulna.
NOVEMBER 1, 2020PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN FAMILY FLEES FOR THEIR LIVES AFTER HUSBAND SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 'BLASPHEMY'
A Pakistani Christian's wife and family have gone into hiding after he was sentenced to death for allegedly committing blasphemy against Islam, CBN News denounced on 28 October 2020.
NOVEMBER 1, 2020QatarDEATH PENALTYQATAR: 4 KERALITES SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING YEMENI TRADER
Four Keralites on 28 October 2020 were sentenced to death by a Qatari Criminal court in Doha after being convicted of murdering a Yemeni gold merchant, local media has reported.
OCTOBER 29, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HCMC COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MALAYSIAN DRUG MULE
An appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City on 28 October 2020 upheld the death sentence handed down to a Malaysian woman for illegally transporting over four kg of cocaine.
OCTOBER 29, 2020MaliDEATH PENALTYMALI: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER HOTEL, RESTAURANT ATTACKS
A Malian court on 28 October 2020 handed a death sentence to a suspected jihadist and his co-defendant, his lawyer said, after he pleaded guilty to shooting five people to death in a 2015 attack and planning two other attacks targeting Westerners that kil
- OCTOBER 29, 2020PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. Roderick Johnson cannot be tried a second time.
USA - Pennsylvania. Roderick Johnson cannot be tried a second time.
OCTOBER 28, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING HIS GIRLFRIEND'S TWO-YEAR-OLD SON
The Intermediate People's Court of Xi'an on 27 October 2020 sentenced a man to death for murdering his girlfriend's two-year-old son.
OCTOBER 28, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: BIHAR MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING NINE PEOPLE IN WARANGAL
A local court in Warangal on 28 October 2020 awarded death penalty to a migrant worker after holding him guilty of killing nine persons and dumping them in a well near a gunny bags manufacturing unit in Gorrekunta village on 21 May.
OCTOBER 27, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on 23 October 2020 rejected an appeal and upheld the death penalty against a 29-year-old woman for having illegally transported narcotics from Cambodia into Vietnam for 19 times.