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 12, 2019JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 5 NEIGHBORS IN YAMAGUCHI LOSES FINAL APPEAL
The Supreme Court on 11 July 2019 upheld a 2016 ruling by the Hiroshima High Court denying an appeal by a 69-year-old man sentenced to death for the murders of five people in the mountain hamlet of Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in July 2013.
- 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.
- JULY 11, 2019DEATH PENALTY
SPRING 2019 ‘DEATH ROW USA’ DOCUMENTS FURTHER SHRINKING OF U.S. DEATH-ROW POPULATION
The number of people on death row or facing capital resentencing in the United States has continued its 19-year decline, according to a new death-row census by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF).
JULY 11, 2019ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 6 AFTER DRIVING INTO CROWD
A court in northeast China's Liaoning Province on 9 July 2019 sentenced a man to death for killing six children and injuring 20 people after driving into a group of children crossing a road.
- JULY 10, 2019SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
SOMALIA: FIVE MEN EXECUTED BY AL-SHABAB FOR SPYING
Al-Shabab on 4 July 2019 shot and killed five men in Salagle town in southern Somalia.
- JULY 10, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Spring 2019 “Death Row USA” as of April 1, 2019
USA - Spring 2019 “Death Row USA” as of April 1, 2019
- JULY 9, 2019CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Rigoberto Villanueva
USA - California. A jury recommended the death penalty for Rigoberto Villanueva
- JULY 7, 2019IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Iran to Sell Organs of Death Row Inmates.
IRAN - Iran to Sell Organs of Death Row Inmates.
JULY 5, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO DRUG TRADERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A central Vietnam court sentenced two men to death on 1 July 2019 for trading over 4.8 kilos of narcotics last year.
JULY 4, 2019BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 1994 ATTACK ON PM HASINA
A Bangladesh court on 3 July 2019 sentenced nine members of the main opposition party to death and handed life terms to another 25 for attempting to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 25 years ago, a government lawyer said.
JULY 4, 2019ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FATHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING HIS BABY'S DOCTOR IN HOSPITAL IN A REVENGE ATTACK AFTER THE GIRL DIED OF AN ILLNESS
A Chinese was sentenced to death on 4 July 2019 for killing a doctor in the hospital in a revenge attack after his three-day-old daughter died of an illness.
JULY 4, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 4 DRUG TRAFFICKERS GET DEATH SENTENCE
Four Vietnamese people on 3 July 2019 were sentenced to death and two others got jail terms of 18 years and 20 years respectively for trafficking over 3.4 kg of heroin.
JULY 2, 2019Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTYMYANMAR: GUNMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ARMED ROBBERY IN MANDALAY
Mandalay District Court on 27 June 2019 sentenced a man to death for an armed robbery that resulted in the death of a woman in Chan Mya Tharsi township in Mandalay Region.
JUNE 27, 2019DEATH PENALTYUSA: CHARLES RAY FINCH BECOMES 166TH DEATH-ROW EXONEREE
Charles Ray Finch Becomes 166th Death-Row Exoneree as North Carolina Prosecutor Formally Drops All Charges.
JUNE 27, 2019BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: TWO TO WALK THE GALLOWS FOR GANG RAPE IN SHARIATPUR
A Shariatpur tribunal sentenced two men to death for gang-raping a girl at Mahmud Shikdar Kandi village in Zajira upazila in 2015.
- JUNE 27, 2019OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Oklahoma. Court reinstates death penalty for James Pavatt.
USA - Oklahoma. Court reinstates death penalty for James Pavatt.
JUNE 26, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HANOI FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced three Vietnamese to death on 25 June 2019 on drugs charges.
- JUNE 26, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - North Carolina. Charles Ray Finch Becomes 166th Death-Row Exoneree
USA - North Carolina. Charles Ray Finch Becomes 166th Death-Row Exoneree
JUNE 26, 2019BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 3 SENTENCED TO DEATH, 7 AWARDED LIFETIME IMPRISONMENT
A Kishoreganj court on 19 June 2019 awarded death sentence to three convict and lifetime imprisonment to seven in a murder case.
- JUNE 26, 2019TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Gary David Green to death
USA - Texas. A jury sentenced Gary David Green to death
- JUNE 25, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: 2 HEROIN TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Vietnamese court on 19 June 2019 sentenced two local men to death for transporting and trading illicit drug, Vietnam News Agency reported.
JUNE 25, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: 3 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 28 YEAR OLD MURDER
Colombo High Court Judge Sampath Wijeratne issued the death penalty for three defendants who were accused of several cases including the murder of an individual with the use of sharp objects
JUNE 25, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SENTENCED TO DEATH TWICE, MAN COMPENSATED AFTER 46 YEARS
A 82-year-old Vietnamese man has been compensated with VND6.7 billion ($287,500) for being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death.
JUNE 24, 2019TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: 3 MUSLIMS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A court in Tanzania on 19 June 2019 sentenced three Muslims to be hanged for decapitating four Christians in 2015 during an outbreak of violence fuelled by religion, a legal source said.
- JUNE 24, 2019CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. A jury sentenced Charles Merritt to death
USA - California. A jury sentenced Charles Merritt to death
- JUNE 24, 2019OhioDEATH PENALTY
USA - Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court cancelled the October execution of Angelo Fears
USA - Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court cancelled the October execution of Angelo Fears
JUNE 21, 2019DEATH PENALTYUSA: 1500 PRISONERS EXECUTED FROM THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN 1976
Marion Wilson, 42, Black, was executed in Georgia on 20 June 2019.
JUNE 21, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: FATHER OF THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER POSSESSION OF HEROIN
A father of three has been sentenced to death over the possession of heroin, as per the order of the Colombo High Court.
- JUNE 21, 2019MississippiDEATH PENALTY
USA - Mississippi. The United States Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of Curtis Giovanni Flowers
USA - Mississippi. The United States Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of Curtis Giovanni Flowers
JUNE 20, 2019EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: COURT SENTENCES TO DEATH 2 MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS IN BEHEIRA
Damanhour Criminal Court of Beheira Governorate has sentenced to death two members of the Muslim Brotherhood group and imprisoned three members on 10-year sentences and two members for three years.