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
- JULY 9, 2020DEATH PENALTY
TEXAS (USA): BILLY JOE WARDLOW EXECUTED, THE FIRST EXECUTION IN THE STATE FOLLOWING A FIVE-MONTH DELAY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Billy Joe Wardlow was executed on July 8, 2020 in Texas, the first execution in the Lone Star State following a five-month delay during the coronavirus pandemic.
JULY 8, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: BENGAL’S SERIAL KILLER SENTENCED TO DEATH IN RAPE AND MURDER CASE
A 38-year-old man was sentenced to death on 6 July 2020 in a rape and murder case by a district court in south Bengal’s East Burdwan district, police said.
JULY 8, 2020TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Billy Joe Wardlow was executed, the first execution following a five-month delay during the coronavirus pandemic.
USA - Texas. Billy Joe Wardlow was executed, the first execution following a five-month delay during the coronavirus pandemic.
JULY 7, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: WOMAN CHARGED WITH DOUBLE HOMICIDE RECEIVES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
A woman who murdered two men and encased their corpses in concrete on 3 July 2020 was sentenced to death in Vietnam.
JULY 6, 2020SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: KORAN TEACHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SEXUAL ABUSE
A court in eastern Sudan’s El Gedaref sentenced an imam to death for sexual abuse of his students at a Koran school, Radio Dabanga reported on 5 July 2020.
JULY 4, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TAIWANESE DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Taiwanese man was sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 July 2020 for trafficking around 317 kg of heroin.
JULY 4, 2020Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: NIGERIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Colombo High Court on 3 July 2020 sentenced a Nigerian national to death for possession and trafficking of cocaine.
JULY 2, 2020BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: IN RARE MOVE, SUPREME COURT CANCELS DEATH SENTENCE IN HIGH-PROFILE CASE
Belarus's Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of a death-row inmate and annulled his sentence in a murder case, a very rare move in the tightly controlled state led by autocratic President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
JULY 2, 2020EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: COURT OF CASSATION SENTENCES ONE MONK TO DEATH, ANOTHER TO LIFE FOR ABBOT'S KILLING
Egypt’s highest court on 1st July 2020 upheld a death sentence for a former monk convicted of killing an abbot in a desert monastery north of Cairo in 2018.
- JULY 2, 2020NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: TWO ROBBERS TO DIE FOR KILLING KWARA COUPLE
A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on 1st July 2020 sentenced two armed robbers to death by hanging for killing a couple, Mr Michael and Mrs Juana Aigbe, at the Fate area of Ilorin in 2016.
JULY 1, 2020DEATH PENALTYIRAN: DEATH SENTENCE ISSUED FOR OPPOSITION JOURNALIST
Ruhollah Zam, a journalist, has been sentenced to death for “corruption on earth”, Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced on 30 June 2020.
JULY 1, 2020EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MUM SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR FEEDING DAUGHTER SULPHURIC ACID
An Egyptian court has sentenced a housewife to death by hanging for killing her baby daughter by feeding her a caustic substance at a private medical clinic in Beheira Governorate, Egyptian media reported on 1st July 2020.
JUNE 30, 2020DEATH PENALTYIRAN: EIGHT MORE PROTESTERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Head of the Justice Department of Isfahan Province on 26 June 2020 said eight individuals have been sentenced for "corruption on earth", a charge carrying the death sentence according to Iran's Islamic Penal Code, the state-run Quds Online reported.
- JUNE 30, 2020IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ruhollah Zam, a journalist, has been sentenced to death.
IRAN - Ruhollah Zam, a journalist, has been sentenced to death.
JUNE 26, 2020DEATH PENALTYIRAN: DEATH SENTENCES OF AMIR-HOSSEIN MORADI, SAEED TAMJIDI AND MOHAMMAD RAJABI UPHELD
Iran Human Rights News Agency (HRANA) on 24 June 2020 reported that the Supreme Court of Iran has upheld the death sentences of three young men who were arrested by security forces during the November 2019 protests.
- JUNE 25, 2020ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A 29-year-old man of Chambishi Township in Kalulushi district has been sentenced to death for killing his friend, the Daily Mail reported on 24 June 2020.
- JUNE 24, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: TWO MEN GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAKING AND SELLING DRUGS
Two men who made and dealt drugs were sentenced to death on 23 June 2020 by Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, days ahead of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June).
JUNE 24, 2020IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - More information on the execution of Hedayat Abdollahpour: he was shot by a firing squad
IRAN - More information on the execution of Hedayat Abdollahpour: he was shot by a firing squad
JUNE 24, 2020TaiwanDEATH PENALTYTAIWAN: MURDERER ESCAPES DEATH SENTENCE IN SECOND TRIAL
A man who raped and killed a female model in Taipei's Nangang District in 2017 avoided a death sentence in a second trial that concluded on 23 June 2020.
- JUNE 24, 2020IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Death sentences of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi upheld
IRAN - Death sentences of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi upheld
JUNE 23, 2020ZimbabweDEATH PENALTYZIMBABWE: TWO TAXI DRIVER KILLERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A High Court judge has condemned two robbers to death for killing a taxi driver in Harare two years ago, The Herald reported on 22 June 2020.
JUNE 23, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MADRAS HC SETS ASIDE DEATH SENTENCE OF FIVE ACCUSED IN TAMIL NADU HONOUR KILLING CASE; GIRL'S FATHER ACQUITTED
The Madras high court acquitted on 22 June 2020 a man found guilty of the daylight killing of his son-in-law, a Dalit, and commuted the death sentence handed to five others in connection with the gruesome crime that sparked public outrage in Tamil Nadu ov
- JUNE 22, 2020IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: FORMER ISIS ‘MUFTI’ SENTENCED TO DEATH
Nineveh Criminal Court has sentenced Abu Abd al-Bari, a Sharia official and a former Mufti of ISIS in the city of Mosul to death, Iraqi sources reported on 21 June 2020.
- JUNE 18, 2020Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
SRI LANKA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR ‘KUDU THILAN’
Dewage Thusitha Chamara alias ‘Kudu Thilan’ who was found guilty for possessing and peddling over 270 grams of heroin, was on 18 June 2020 sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court.
JUNE 18, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES OVER ĐIỆN BIÊN GANG RAPE AND MURDER
The People’s Court of Điện Biên on 17 June 2020 rejected letters of appeal and decided to uphold the death sentence for six defendants for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 22-year-old woman.
JUNE 17, 2020IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Arjangi, who was under 18 at the time of the crime, may be executed shortly.
IRAN - Ali Arjangi, who was under 18 at the time of the crime, may be executed shortly.
- JUNE 16, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTY
AUSTRALIA VOICES CONCERN OVER MAN SENTENCED TO DIE IN CHINA
Australia’s prime minister said on 16 June 2020 that his government is “very sad and concerned” by China’s sentencing of an Australian man to death for drug trafficking.
JUNE 16, 2020IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Political prisoner Narges Mohammadi suffers for witnessing execution.
IRAN - Political prisoner Narges Mohammadi suffers for witnessing execution.
JUNE 15, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FIVE DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on 12 June 2020 handed down death sentences on five Vietnamese citizens charged with illegally trading and trafficking drugs in Vietnam.
JUNE 14, 2020ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: AUSTRALIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
An Australian man on 10 June 2020 was sentenced to death in China on drug charges, federal government said, a development that could further escalate tensions between the two countries.