Death sentences
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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
FEBRUARY 13, 2019IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: 6 BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR JOINING ISLAMIC STATE
An Iraqi criminal court has sentenced six brothers to death by hanging for joining the Islamic State (IS) terror group, IraqiNews.com reported on 12 February 2019.
FEBRUARY 11, 2019NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES THREE TO DEATH IN OSUN OVER DEATH OF UNDERGRADUATE
An Osun State High Court on 4 February 2019 sentenced three persons to death over the murder of a 400-level student, Oluwafemi Timileyin Sonibare.
FEBRUARY 11, 2019BahrainDEATH PENALTYBAHRAIN: COURT GIVES DEATH PENALTY TO ACTIVIST, LIFE TERMS TO NEARLY TWO DOZEN OTHERS
Bahrain's Fourth High Criminal Court on 31 January 2019 passed the death penalty on a Bahraini national and sentenced 23 other activists to life in prison, the Arabic-language Lualua television network reported.
FEBRUARY 8, 2019EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: 3 EXECUTED FOR 2014 MURDER OF JUDGE’S SON
Egyptian authorities executed three political prisoners on 7 February 2019, one year after they were sentenced to death on charges of killing the son of a judge, according to local rights activists.
FEBRUARY 7, 2019ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: GUARD TO HANG FOR MURDER
A security guard has been condemned to death by hanging for murdering a man he found loitering outside his work place, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) offices in Luanshya, the Daily Mail reported on 27 January 2019.
FEBRUARY 6, 2019EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: COURT REFERS PRELIMINARY DEATH SENTENCE FOR POLICEMAN CONVICTED OF MURDER TO GRAND MUFTI FOR REVIEW
A criminal court in Minya on 2 February 2019 said that it is seeking the grand mufti’s opinion on a preliminary death sentence for a police officer who was convicted of killing a Christian man and his son last December.
FEBRUARY 5, 2019EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: 8 DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SISI'S ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE
Eight defendants out of 292 people accused of attempting to assassinate Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and former Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in Saudi Arabia, were sentenced to death on 4 February 2019.
- FEBRUARY 4, 2019KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT REDUCES TAMIL NADU MAN'S DEATH PENALTY AS FAMILY RAISES 'BLOOD MONEY'
A Tamil Nadu man, who was facing death penalty in Kuwait, had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment by the government after his family raised 30 lakh rupees 'blood money' to pay the victim's family.
FEBRUARY 4, 2019EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE, THREE CHILDREN
An Egyptian criminal court has sentenced to death a man for killing his wife and three children in their home in the Nile Delta’s Kafr El-Sheikh city, Ahram reported on 3 February 2019.
- FEBRUARY 4, 2019DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. Five Years With No Death Sentences.
USA - Georgia. Five Years With No Death Sentences.
JANUARY 31, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: COURT AWARDS DEATH SENTENCE TO FATHER WHO WAS GUILTY OF POISONING TWO CHILDREN
The Kundapur additional sessions court on 19 January 2019 awarded the death penalty for a father who was found guilty in the death of two children by poisoning them at Ganganadu near Byndoor.
JANUARY 31, 2019BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 4 TO WALK GALLOWS FOR MURDER
A Sirajganj court on 22 January 2019 sentenced four people to death for killing a woman over dowry in 2001.
- JANUARY 28, 2019ThailandDEATH PENALTY
THAILAND: WOMAN WHO LAUNDERED DRUG MONEY GETS DEATH PENALTY
The Criminal Court has handed down a death sentence to a Myanmar woman for laundering dirty money and her connection with the methamphetamine trade, thephuketnews.com reported on 26 January 2019.
JANUARY 28, 2019PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY LAHORE'S GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE COURT FOR RAPING MEDICAL STUDENT
A special Lahore court set up to deal with gender-based violence on 18 January 2019 sentenced to death a man for the rape of a female medical student.
JANUARY 28, 2019South SudanDEATH PENALTYSOUTH SUDAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING IN BOR
A High Court in Bor town in South Sudan’s Jonglei state on 21 January 2019 sentenced a man to death by hanging.
- JANUARY 28, 2019FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Rocky Ali Beamon sentenced to death for murdering cellmate
USA - Florida. Rocky Ali Beamon sentenced to death for murdering cellmate
JANUARY 25, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SUPREME COURT ACQUITS THREE DEATH PENALTY CONVICTS, COMMUTES SENTENCE OF ONE
The Supreme Court on 23 January 2019 acquitted three persons who had been awarded death penalty in a murder case. The death sentence awarded to a fourth accused was commuted to life imprisonment.
- JANUARY 23, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: KERALA MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF WOMAN, DAUGHTER
The Thodupuzha second additional sessions judge KK Sujatha on 17 January 2019 awarded death penalty to Jomon, of Peruvelipparambil house, Kumily, who raped and killed a woman and her daughter at Vandiperiyar in Idukki 12 years ago.
JANUARY 22, 2019KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STEALING 12 SHEEP
A 30-year-old man was sentenced to death by a Narok Court on 17 Janunary 2019 after he was found guilty of robbery with violence.
JANUARY 21, 2019SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: MILITARY COURT SENTENCES ARMY OFFICER TO DEATH
Somali military court on 17 January 2019 sentenced military army officer to death after finding him guilty of murdering a police officer in Mogadishu on 6 October 2018, officials said.
JANUARY 18, 2019MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: THREE MURDERERS TO HANG AFTER FINAL APPEALS DISMISSED
Three men lost their final appeals against their death sentences for murder convictions at the Federal Court in Kota Kinabalu on 15 January 2019.
JANUARY 17, 2019ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: CANADIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
A Chinese court on 14 January 2019 upped Robert Lloyd Schellenberg’s sentence from 15 years in prison to execution after he appealed against the court’s December verdict.
JANUARY 17, 2019Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER SIX MURDERS IN 1999
Two persons on 10 January 2019 were sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty of murdering six persons.
JANUARY 17, 2019VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SCHOOL TEACHER GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A school teacher in northern Vietnam has received the death penalty for drug trafficking, state media reported on 15 January 2019.
- JANUARY 15, 2019DEATH PENALTY
FLORIDA (USA): WITH BACKING OF NEW GOVERNOR, CLEMENCY BOARD POSTHUMOUSLY PARDONS THE ‘GROVELAND FOUR’
The Florida Clemency Board on 11 January 2019 unanimously granted posthumous pardons to the “Groveland Four,” four young African-American men falsely accused of raping a young white woman in Lake County, Florida in 1949.
- JANUARY 14, 2019SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
SOMALIA: SOMALI SOLDIER GIVEN DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDERING CIVILIAN
Somali military court on 12 January 2019 sentenced an army officer to the death penalty after he was found guilty of intentionally killing a civilian identified as Dayah Iman Hassan on 21st October last year near Seybiyano locality in Hodan district, Moga
- JANUARY 14, 2019KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
USA - Kentucky. U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Case of Larry Lamont White
USA - Kentucky. U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Case of Larry Lamont White
- JANUARY 11, 2019FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Clemency Board Posthumously Pardons the “Groveland Four”.
USA - Florida. Clemency Board Posthumously Pardons the “Groveland Four”.
- JANUARY 10, 2019TunisiaDEATH PENALTY
TUNISIA: FIVE JIHADISTS SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER TEEN BEHEADING
A Tunisian court on 8 January 2019 sentenced five jihadists to death over the 2015 murder of a teenage shepherd.
- JANUARY 10, 2019QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: TWO ASIAN MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING EMPLOYER
A Doha Criminal Court on 2 January 2019 sentenced two Asian men to death for the premeditated murder of their employer, and a third man to six months in jail for being aware of the crime and not reporting it.