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
MARCH 13, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - NYT: the Death Penalty Is Even More Horrifying Than You Think
MARCH 11, 2026TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Cedric Ricks, 51, Black, was executed on March 11
MARCH 10, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING, ARMED ROBBERY IN KWARA
Justice Ahmed Aliyu Gegele of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on March 5, 2026 sentenced two men to death by hanging for kidnapping and armed robbery, among other offences.
- MARCH 9, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Costs and the Death Penalty
A DPIC study
MARCH 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw report on violations of women’s rights
At least 250 women killed during the January protests
MARCH 8, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Dale Baich: A defender on death row
Dale Baich has watched 16 men die
MARCH 4, 2026NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: PASTOR TO DIE BY HANGING FOR KILLING A’IBOM LANDLORD
The Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo –Ifa Ikot Okpon Branch, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging, Punch reported on February 21, 2026.
MARCH 3, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Billy Leon Kearse, 53, Black, was executed on March 3
- MARCH 1, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mohammad Nourani Gargari executed in Ardabil on March 1
FEBRUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 7 men executed in late January and early February 2026
Hatem Shamshiri, Fariborz Ezzati, Saeed Fazeli, Asghar Fathi, Erfan Salehi, Amir Rouhi, Ardeshir Molaei
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in the past days
Hassan Khalili, Naqi Feyzi, Behnam Jahani, Mostafa Bahari
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed on February 26
Reza Azarang, Ahmad Ali Jamshidi, Naser Mazloom, + 1
- FEBRUARY 25, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Execution of At Least Twelve People on February 25
Kianoush Monavari, Ghader Mohammadi, Nariman Zangeneh, Ali Asghar Oladi, … Shateri, Mostafa Kamali, Aysan Rostami, Jahan Azadi, Farshid Ghasemi, Taher Yousefi, Hamid Tajik, Adel Fereshteh
- FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - The 109th Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
FEBRUARY 24, 2026FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Melvin Trotter, 65, Black, was executed on February 24
FEBRUARY 22, 2026JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: COURT REJECTS RETRIAL FOR MAN EXECUTED FOR 1992 CHILD MURDERS
The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on February 16, 2026 for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed.
FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Habib Rasoulzadeh executed in Semnan on February 22
- FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mohammad Javad Masoumi executed in Ardabil on February 22
- FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 11 men executed on February 21
FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehrdad Ghaeni executed in Qom on February 21
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hassan Narouei executed in Sarakhs February 19
- FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Execution of 8 Prisoners on February 19
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Javad Zarei executed in Torbat-e Heydarieh on February 19
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sajad Ahmadi executed in Malayer on February 18
- FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 13 men executed on February 18
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 520 men and 8 women executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 prisoners executed on February 17
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed on February 17
FEBRUARY 16, 2026United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. An intervention by Mumia Abu Jamal from prison
The now 72-year-old former Black Panther militant has been in prison for 45 years
FEBRUARY 16, 2026SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA EXECUTES TWO AL-SHABAAB CONVICTS OVER DEADLY MOGADISHU ATTACKS
The Somali federal government on February 16, 2026 executed two men convicted of orchestrating a series of deadly assassinations and bombings in the capital, judicial officials confirmed.