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
- AUGUST 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Rashed bin Modhesh al-Dosari, a Saudi national convicted...
Rashed bin Modhesh al-Dosari, a Saudi national convicted of shooting a compatriot to death following an argument, was executed in the Riyadh region by public beheading
- AUGUST 1, 2003BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
"The execution of a convicted murderer last month has...
"The execution of a convicted murderer last month has re-opened the controversy over the administration of the death penalty in Botswana," said an All Africa editorial
- JULY 30, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
Two Iranians convicted of murder were hanged in Tehran's...
Two Iranians convicted of murder were hanged in Tehran's Ghasr prison, the government daily Iran reported
- JULY 29, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Feng, an elementary school teacher in Tonghua city,...
Li Feng, an elementary school teacher in Tonghua city, in northeast China's Jilin Province, was sentenced to death and executed for raping and molesting 19 girl students under the age of 14
- JULY 29, 2003OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
In McAlester, Harold Loyd McElmurry III was executed
In McAlester, Harold Loyd McElmurry III was executed
- JULY 24, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
In Huntsville, a convicted hit man was executed this...
In Huntsville, a convicted hit man was executed this evening for fatally shooting a 14-month-old boy in his crib more than 24 years ago as part of a murder-for-hire scheme that also left the child's parents shot dead
- JULY 24, 2003OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
In McAlester, Jackie Lee Willingham, 33, was executed...
In McAlester, Jackie Lee Willingham, 33, was executed for a 1994 murder
- JULY 23, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Forty-nine people on death row in Vietnam's southern...
Forty-nine people on death row in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City were expected to be executed soon, after their appeals for presidential clemency had been rejected, state media said
- JULY 23, 2003JapanDEATH PENALTY
Nine executive members of the Committee on Judicial...
Nine executive members of the Committee on Judicial Affairs of Japan's lower house of parliament visited a new execution chamber at the Tokyo Detention Centre
- JULY 23, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Cedric Ransom, 29, was executed this evening for robbing...
Cedric Ransom, 29, was executed this evening for robbing and fatally shooting Herbert Primm, 47, on Dec
- JULY 23, 2003VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
Bobby Wayne Swisher, 27, was executed by injection...
Bobby Wayne Swisher, 27, was executed by injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, six years after he kidnapped and raped 22-year-old Dawn McNees Snyder on Feb
- JULY 22, 2003OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
Bryan Anthony Toles, 31, was executed
Bryan Anthony Toles, 31, was executed
- JULY 19, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Dinh Huu Huy, 26, was executed by firing squad in Vietnam...
Dinh Huu Huy, 26, was executed by firing squad in Vietnam after being convicted of in 2002 of murdering a motorcycle taxi driver in order to steal his vehicle, state media said
- JULY 18, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been...
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been on death row in Botswana for five years, was executed at Gaborone Central Prison, SABC news reported
- JULY 18, 2003BotswanaDEATH PENALTY
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been...
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been on death row in Botswana for five years, was executed at Gaborone Central Prison, SABC news reported
- JULY 11, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Tang Minh Phung, 47, a businessman, and 60-year-old...
Tang Minh Phung, 47, a businessman, and 60-year-old banker Pham Nhat Hong were shot dead by firing squad in southern Ho Chi Minh City after their appeals for clemency were rejected by President Tran Duc Luong in May 2003
- JULY 9, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Christopher Black Sr
Christopher Black Sr
- JULY 9, 2003ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
A man who killed 3 children in the mistaken belief...
A man who killed 3 children in the mistaken belief that their sister set up his brother for a gang hit was executed
- JULY 8, 2003OklahomaDEATH PENALTY
In McAlester, Robert Don Duckett, 39, received a heart-stopping...
In McAlester, Robert Don Duckett, 39, received a heart-stopping injection and was pronounced dead at 6:16 p
- JULY 7, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
"The prison department in Jharkhand has a strange problem:...
"The prison department in Jharkhand has a strange problem: The state's jail has 12 men who have been sentenced to death, but no hangman to execute these sentences," the Hindustan Times reported
- JULY 6, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Khaled Nasser bin Shaye al-Dossari, a Saudi national,...
Khaled Nasser bin Shaye al-Dossari, a Saudi national, was executed by public beheading for murdering a female compatriot following a dispute
- JULY 4, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta...
It was reported that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court sought views from colleagues on ways to execute people in a less painful manner
- JULY 3, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Ali bin Saeed al-Shahrani, a Saudi citizen convicted...
Ali bin Saeed al-Shahrani, a Saudi citizen convicted of shooting a compatriot to death, was beheaded by the sword in the southern province of Assir
- JULY 3, 2003BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A Bangladeshi court ordered Kamal Pasha to be hanged...
A Bangladeshi court ordered Kamal Pasha to be hanged for gunning down two brothers
- JULY 2, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Hilton Crawford, the convicted murderer of a 12-year-old...
Hilton Crawford, the convicted murderer of a 12-year-old boy in a septembre 1995 kidnap plot that turned deadly, was put to death by injection at 6:19 p
- JULY 2, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Five convicted criminals were put to death by lethal...
Five convicted criminals were put to death by lethal injection in the central Chinese province of Henan
- JULY 1, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men, found guilt of armed robbery and rape, were...
Two men, found guilt of armed robbery and rape, were hanged publicly in the south-western Iranian province of Khuzestan, the conservative evening daily al-Kahyan reported
- JUNE 29, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
A Pakistani court sentenced two men to hang after they...
A Pakistani court sentenced two men to hang after they were found guilty of killing a woman by throwing acid at her, police said
- JUNE 27, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Qiao Yanqin was executed in southern China's Guangdong...
Qiao Yanqin was executed in southern China's Guangdong province for his role in the beating to death of a migrant worker in a detention centre
- JUNE 25, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The No 2 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing executed...
The No 2 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing executed six people on the order of the Supreme People's Court for their direct involvement in drug-related crimes