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
- AUGUST 7, 2019SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
PUNTLAND (SOMALIA): MEN WHO KILLED MALTESE PORT MANAGER SENTENCED TO DEATH
The men accused of killing Maltese port manager Paul Formosa in Puntland last February were sentenced to death on 29 July 2019 by a military tribunal, Somali media report.
AUGUST 6, 2019ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2015 MURDER OF JAPANESE PARTNER
The Supreme Court has sentenced a woman to death over the 2015 murder of her elderly Japanese partner, a member of the prosecution said on 6 August 2019.
AUGUST 6, 2019TaiwanDEATH PENALTYTAIWAN: ARCHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF WOMAN IN TAIPEI'S HUASHAN GRASSLAND
An archery instructor has been found guilty of murdering his female student and dismembering her into 13 pieces and has been sentenced to death.
AUGUST 5, 2019SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: DAESH TERRORIST SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Somali military tribunal on 1 August 2019 sentenced a Daesh terrorist to death for his role in the killing of five people, including civilians and a security official, in separate shooting incidents in 2018-19.
AUGUST 1, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A HCMC court on 29 July 2019 sentenced a Vietnamese Australian drug ring leader and three of her accomplices to death.
AUGUST 1, 2019IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: 9 SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ECONOMIC CORRUPTION
Iran’s judiciary has shared information on hundreds of court verdicts for convicts of corruption and financial wrongdoing, saying a total of nine people have been sentenced to death and four others to life in jail.
JULY 31, 2019BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: SECOND MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH THIS YEAR
A man was sentenced to death in Belarus for double murder on 31 July 2019 despite repeated calls by the European Union for the abolition of capital punishment in the only European country that still carries out executions.
- JULY 31, 2019DEATH PENALTY
IRAN: FORMER VP MOHAMMAD ALI NAJAFI GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING WIFE
Iran's state TV says a former mayor of Tehran who also served as one of the country's vice presidents was sentenced to death on 30 July 2019 for killing his wife.
JULY 31, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: HEROIN SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO DEATH BY COLOMBO HIGH COURT
The Colombo High Court on 30 July 2019 sentenced a heroin smuggler to death. The suspect is Jesmin Rizwan, a resident of Maligawatta.
JULY 30, 2019NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TRUCK DRIVER SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR CRUSHING MAN TO DEATH
An Abeokuta High Court on 26 July 2019 sentenced a truck driver, Monsuni Waidi, to death by hanging for killing a passenger.
- JULY 30, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Former Iran VP Mohammad Ali Najafi sentenced to death on July 30 for killing wife.
IRAN - Former Iran VP Mohammad Ali Najafi sentenced to death on July 30 for killing wife.
- JULY 29, 2019United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE: DEATH PENALTY FOR EXPAT WHO KILLED MAN INSIDE MOSQUE
A Uae resident who shot a man dead inside a mosque in Al Ain in 2017 has been sentenced to death, the Khaleej Times reported on 29 July 2019.
JULY 29, 2019MoroccoDEATH PENALTYMOROCCO: TWO DUTCHMEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
Two Dutchmen were sentenced to death in Morocco for murder, the NOS reported on 27 July 2019. One person was killed in the shooting in Marrakech. Two others were injured.
- JULY 29, 2019TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Court overturns Melissa E. Lucio’s Conviction in child murder case that may have been an other accidental death.
USA - Texas. Court overturns Melissa E. Lucio’s Conviction in child murder case that may have been an other accidental death.
JULY 26, 2019GambiaDEATH PENALTYGAMBIA: SENEGALESE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STRANGLING WOMAN
Justice Z. Jawara Alami of the High Court last week sentenced one Pap Ibrahim Khalilulaye Thiam, a Senegalese national to death for strangling one Fatou Loum, The Standard reported on 25 July 2019.
JULY 26, 2019IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR JOINING ISLAMIC STATE
An Iraqi court has sentenced two men to death after finding them guilty of joining the Islamic State group, a judicial council said.
JULY 24, 2019PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MURDERER OF TRANSGENDER PERSON GETS DEATH PENALTY
The killer of a transgender person was sentenced to death by district and session court in Peshawar on 22 July 2019. The judgment was announced by Judge Saadia Andaleeb in the murder case of Alisha, who was brutally gunned down by Fazal Dayan Alias Fazal
- JULY 23, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN SAYS IT ARRESTED CIA SPIES AND SENTENCED SOME TO DEATH
Iran says it has arrested 17 spies who it says were working for the CIA, and sentenced some of them to death.
- JULY 23, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: FORMER POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRADING DRUG
Two former police officers in Hai Phong were sentenced to death and 20 years in jail on 22 July 2019 for trading meth stolen from a drug bust.
JULY 23, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO DEATH
A suspect that was convicted of heroin racketeering charges was sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on 18 July 2019.
- JULY 23, 2019KenyaDEATH PENALTY
KENYA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING DIVORCED WOMAN WHO REJECTED HIM
A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to death for killing a woman who turned down his advances for a love relationship after separating from her husband, Nairobinews reported on 19 July 2019.
- JULY 23, 2019OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. A jury sentenced Thomas Knuff to death
USA - Ohio. A jury sentenced Thomas Knuff to death
JULY 19, 2019MoroccoDEATH PENALTYMOROCCO: COURT ORDERS DEATH PENALTY FOR JIHADISTS WHO BEHEADED TOURISTS
Three men have been sentenced to death in Morocco for the Isis-inspired murder of two Scandinavian hikers in the Atlas mountains last December.
JULY 18, 2019ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE
On the morning of 8 July 2019 the Intermediate Peoples Court of Luan City, Anhui Province, publicly sentenced Wang Yunli to death for intentional homicide, depriving him of political rights for life; confiscating a single-edged tool; compensating the plai
- JULY 17, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPING, KILLING 9-YR-OLD GIRL
In a speedy judgment, a Bophal district court on 11 July 2019 awarded death sentence to a 35-year-old man for raping and killing a nine-year-old girl last month.
JULY 16, 2019United KingdomDEATH PENALTYUK: ASSANGE WILL NOT BE EXTRADITED TO ANY COUNTRY WITH DEATH PENALTY
UK Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan has reaffirmed that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would not be extradited to “anywhere where he could face capital punishment”, the independent Spanish news agency EFE reports.
- JULY 15, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN TO SELL ORGANS OF DEATH ROW INMATES
The organs of death row prisoners in Iran could be pre-sold to buyers under a new law that is heavily condemned by Iran’s Association of Surgeons.
JULY 15, 2019ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: DEATH SENTENCE FOR SEVENTH MAN IN WORAYUTH FAMILY SLAUGHTER
A seventh defendant in the murder almost exactly two years ago of a family of eight in southern Krabi province was sentenced to death on 9 July 2019, while the same sentence was upheld for the mastermind behind the crime and for five accomplices.
- JULY 13, 2019LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Louisiana. A jury sentenced Kevin Daigle to death
USA - Louisiana. A jury sentenced Kevin Daigle to death
- JULY 12, 2019ThailandDEATH PENALTY
THAILAND: MURDERER IS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING A GERMAN BACKPACKER
A Thai man who raped and murdered a German backpacker was sentenced to death on 10 July 2019.