Executions
Archive theme
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
JULY 12, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: MAN HANGED AT ZAHEDAN PRISON
A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Zahedan Central Prison on unknown charges.
- JULY 11, 2017PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: 3 DEATH CONVICTS HANGED IN SARGODHA
At least three death convicts who were involved in the killing of three members of same family.
JULY 11, 2017Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES PRISONER CONVICTED OF PROTEST
The Saudi authorities have executed four men who were convicted in a secret ‘terrorism’ court – including at
- JULY 10, 2017YemenDEATH PENALTY
a court in Sanaa has sentenced to death four Saudis convicted of belonging to al Qaeda and beheading 14 Yemeni
a court in Sanaa has sentenced to death four Saudis convicted of belonging to al Qaeda and beheading 14 Yemeni
JULY 10, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: PRISONER EXECUTED ON DRUG RELATED CHARGES
A prisoner was reportedly executed on the morning at Mahabad Prison on drug related charges.
JULY 10, 2017Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SIX EXECUTED, INCLUDING A PAKISTANI
Six people convicted of drug trafficking and homicide were executed in Saudi Arabia, the government said, the highest number of executions in a single day this year.
JULY 9, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: AT LEAST 10 PRISONERS INCLUDING AFGHAN CITIZENS HANGED ON DRUG CHARGES
At least ten prisoners, including three Afghan citizens, were reportedly hanged at Taybad Prison (Razavi Khorasan province, northeastern Iran) on drug related charges.
JULY 8, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: FOUR PRISONERS HANGED ON DRUG CHARGES
Four prisoners were reportedly hanged on the morning at Urmia's central prison on drug related charges.
- JULY 6, 2017VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. William Morva was executed.
USA - Virginia. William Morva was executed.
JULY 6, 2017DEATH PENALTYVIRGINIA (USA): WILLIAM MORVA EXECUTED
William Morva, 35, White, was executed. Morva was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m., according to Lisa Kinney, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
JULY 5, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: EIGHT PRISONERS HANGED AT RAJAI SHAHR PRISON
Eight prisoners were reportedly hanged on the morning at Rajai Shahr Prison.
- JULY 5, 2017PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: RAPIST, KILLER OF MINOR HANGED IN GUJRANWALA
A man convicted for rape and murder of a minor boy was hanged in the central jail in Gujranwala.
- JULY 4, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: TWO PRISONERS HANGED IN PUBLIC
Two prisoners were hanged in public on rape charges.
- JULY 1, 2017BarbadosDEATH PENALTY
Jamar Dewayne Bynoe, accused of the deaths of six women in the Campus Trendz fire, has been found guilty on six counts of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
Jamar Dewayne Bynoe, accused of the deaths of six women in the Campus Trendz fire, has been found guilty on six counts of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
- JULY 1, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: TWO MEN AND A WOMAN HANGED ON DRUG CHARGES
Two men and one woman were reportedly hanged at Rasht's central prison on drug related charges.
- JUNE 30, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: 239 EXECUTIONS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2017
According to reports by Iran Human Rights (IHR), 239 executions were carried out in Iran in the first six months of 2017.
- JUNE 27, 2017South SudanDEATH PENALTY
Execution of two juvenile brothers
27th June 2017: two brothers, Orenga Tom Goro and his younger brother Ayela Philip Goro were put to death today at Juba Central Prison
JUNE 24, 2017ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: THIRTEEN CHINESE DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN FRONT OF 10,000 AT PUBLIC STADIUM BEFORE EIGHT ARE WHISKED OFF IN A TRUCK TO BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY
Eight were executed straight after the hearing — slammed by human rights activists as barbaric — in the southern city of Shanwei, Guangdong.
- JUNE 22, 2017ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Arizona. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake Accepts Sweeping Reforms of Arizona Death Penalty Protocols.
USA - Arizona. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake Accepts Sweeping Reforms of Arizona Death Penalty Protocols.
- JUNE 8, 2017AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Robert Melson, 46, Black, was executed.
USA - Alabama. Robert Melson, 46, Black, was executed.
JUNE 8, 2017DEATH PENALTYALABAMA (USA): ROBERT MELSON EXECUTED
Robert Melson, 46, Black, was executed. Melson was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death for the murders of three workers at a fast food restaurant on April 16, 1994.
JUNE 6, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: PRISONER HANGED ON MURDER CHARGES
A prisoner identified as Homayoun Toolabi was reportedly hanged at Khorramabad Prison on murder charges.
JUNE 4, 2017BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING SISTER
A Dhaka court sentenced two people to death for killing a woman in 2015.
JUNE 4, 2017SyriaDEATH PENALTYISIS executes 33, its largest mass killing of 2017
4 June 2017: the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) executed 33 people in eastern Syria on Wednesday, according to a monitoring group, in its biggest mass killing in 2017.
MAY 31, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: TWO PRISONERS EXECUTED, ONE OF THEM IN PUBLIC
Two prisoners have been hanged in Iran in the last days.
MAY 30, 2017SudanDEATH PENALTYSUDAN: DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPE, MURDER OF GIRL IN SOUTH DARFUR CITY
The Children's Court in Nyala sentenced the rapist and killer of a six-year-old girl to death by hanging. The victim was found tied-down in his shop, and was suffocated with napkins and biscuits.
- MAY 28, 2017IranDEATH PENALTY
An unidentified prisoner sentenced to death on rape charges was reportedly hanged in public in Shiraz in front of a crowd of people.
An unidentified prisoner sentenced to death on rape charges was reportedly hanged in public in Shiraz in front of a crowd of people.
MAY 28, 2017SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: AL SHABAAB STONE A MAN TO DEATH FOR ADULTERY
Al Shabaab fighters in Somalia stoned a man to death as a punishment for committing adultery.
MAY 26, 2017IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN: THREE PRISONERS HANGED ON DRUG CHARGES
The Iranian authorities reportedly hanged three prisoners on drug related charges in the morning.
MAY 26, 2017DEATH PENALTYALABAMA (USA): TOMMY ARTHUR, 75, EXECUTED
Tommy Arthur, 75, White, was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. local time Friday after a lethal injection, authorities said.