Executions
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An execution is the act by which a state puts a condemned person to death. Hands Off Cain records the cases documented by public sources: press agencies, local newspapers, human rights organisations, official statements. The figure that results is a confirmed minimum, not an estimate of the real total: several states publish no data on executions, and in some countries they are not announced even to the families.
This page collects the news on the executions recorded by the association. The totals by country and by year are in the database.
Latest news
DECEMBER 5, 2017SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: KHARTOUM APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT
The Khartoum Court of Appeals issued a ruling upholding the death sentence against the university student Asim Omer for the alleged killing a policeman during protests last year.
NOVEMBER 29, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: 10 PRISONERS HANGED ON MURDER CHARGES
According to a close source, ten prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prison.
NOVEMBER 29, 2017AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: FIVE PRISONERS HANGED TO DEATH IN KABUL PRISON
At least five prisoners, who were sentenced to death over kidnapping charges, have been hanged to death at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul.
NOVEMBER 29, 2017BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: SHAZNEEN KILLER SHAHID HANGED
Shahidul Islam alias Shahid, the convicted killer of Scholastica student Shazneen Tasnim Rahman, was hanged at Kashimpur High Security Central Jail in Dhaka.
NOVEMBER 28, 2017Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 7 EXECUTED FOR MURDER, DRUGS OFFENCES
Saudi Arabia executed six Yemeni men convicted of murder and robbery and a Saudi man for smuggling drugs, the interior ministry said.
- NOVEMBER 23, 2017United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE EXECUTES JORDANIAN WHO RAPED, KILLED 8-YEAR-OLD COMPATRIOT BOY
November 23, 2017: UAE authorities executed Nidal Eisa Abdullah, the convict who raped and killed eight-year-old boy Obaida in May 2016, local media reported.
NOVEMBER 22, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: EXECUTION IN KARAJ
According to a close source, a prisoner was executed at Rajai Shahr Prison charged with Moharebeh (waging war against God).
NOVEMBER 22, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: THREE EXECUTED IN TABRIZ
According to a report by HRANA News Agency which is also confirmed by Iran Human Rights (IHR), on the morning three prisoners were executed at Tabriz Central Prison on murder charges.
- NOVEMBER 21, 2017NevadaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Nevada. Letters to judge affirm Nevada Dozier’s desire to die.
USA - Nevada. Letters to judge affirm Nevada Dozier’s desire to die.
NOVEMBER 18, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: PRISONER HANGED ON MURDER CHARGES
According to a close source, a prisoner was hanged on the morning at Ilam Central Prison.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2017PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: TWO DEATH ROW CONVICTS HANGED IN DIFFERENT JAILS
At least two death row convicts were hanged in various jails of Punjab on early morning, Dunya News reported. The dead bodies of the prisoners were handed over to their heirs after the executions.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2017BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: TWO HANGED IN JESSORE FOR MURDERING FREEDOM FIGHTER IN 1994
The authorities in Jessore Central Jail have executed death sentences of two for murdering freedom fighter Monwar Hossain 23 years ago.
NOVEMBER 13, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: EXECUTION IN BANDAR ABBAS
According to a close source, on the morning a prisoner was executed at Bandar Abbas Central Prison.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: PRISONER HANGED IN PUBLIC
According to the human rights news agency, HRANA, on the morning a prisoner was hanged in public in Babol (a city in Mazandaran Province).
NOVEMBER 9, 2017ZimbabweDEATH PENALTYZIMBABWE: DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO BEHEADED WIFE
A Binga man who chopped off his wife’s head and hid it in a cardboard box following domestic dispute, was sentenced to death.
- NOVEMBER 9, 2017NebraskaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Nebraska. The attorney general has chosen Jose Sandoval as the next to die, after a 20-year hiatus in executions
USA - Nebraska. The attorney general has chosen Jose Sandoval as the next to die, after a 20-year hiatus in executions
- NOVEMBER 8, 2017DEATH PENALTY
FLORIDA (USA): PATRICK HANNON EXECUTED
Patrick Hannon, 53, White, was executed.
- NOVEMBER 8, 2017DEATH PENALTY
TEXAS (USA): RUBEN RAMIREZ CARDENAS EXECUTED
Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, 47, a Mexican citizen, was executed, despite an adjudication by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that he was entitled to a new trial because of Texas's violation of U.S. treaty obligations under the Vienna Convention f
- NOVEMBER 8, 2017FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Patrick Hannon, 53, White, was executed.
USA - Florida. Patrick Hannon, 53, White, was executed.
- NOVEMBER 8, 2017TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, 47, a Mexican citizen, was executed
USA - Texas. Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, 47, a Mexican citizen, was executed
NOVEMBER 7, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: FOUR PRISONERS EXECUTED FOR DRUG OFFENCES
According to a close source, on the morning four prisoners were executed at Urmia Central Prison (Darya).
- NOVEMBER 6, 2017AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that Vernon Madison is competent to be executed.
USA - Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that Vernon Madison is competent to be executed.
NOVEMBER 4, 2017SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: ISLAMIST INSURGENTS EXECUTE FOUR ALLEGED SPIES
Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab insurgency shot four men accused of spying in a public execution that underscored the insurgents’ control of swathes of the country’s southern region, even as the government girds up for an offensive against them.
- NOVEMBER 1, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: A PRISONER HANGED ON MURDER CHARGES AT ORUMIYEH CENTRAL PRISON
A death row prisoner was executed on murder charges in the central prison of Orumiyeh.
- OCTOBER 31, 2017PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER, RAPE EXECUTED IN HYDERABAD
A man charged with murder and rape was executed early in the morning at the Hyderabad Central Prison.
OCTOBER 31, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: PRISONER EXECUTED AT MARAGHEH PRISON
According to a close source, on the morning a prisoner was executed at Maragheh Prison (Northwestern Iran) on murder charges.
OCTOBER 29, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: PRISONER EXECUTED AT ZAHEDAN CENTRAL PRISON ON MURDER CHARGES
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central prison on murder charges.
- OCTOBER 26, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: PRISONER HANGED IN PUBLIC
According to a report by the Iranian state-run news agency Rokna, on the morning a prisoner was executed in public at Ghamsal (Keshavarz) Square in the city of Khoy (Northwestern Iran).
- OCTOBER 25, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: PRISONER HANGED IN PUBLIC
According to Iranian state media, on the morning, a prisoner was executed in public in Jahanabad (a village in Fahraj Rural District, Kerman Province) on murder charges.
OCTOBER 25, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: APPROVAL OF THE NEW ANTI-NARCOTIC BILL BY THE GUARDIAN COUNCIL
The bill that restricts the execution of those sentenced to death for petty drug offenses, which was approved on October 18, is a potentially a significant in decreasing the number of executions in Iran. However, it still doesn’t fully conform to what hum