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
- JANUARY 22, 2003BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
A Bangladeshi man was sentenced to hang for burning...
A Bangladeshi man was sentenced to hang for burning a woman with acid, in the second death penalty handed down for the crime this month
- JANUARY 21, 2003North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
North Koreans arrested by China while trying to escape...
North Koreans arrested by China while trying to escape by boat are likely to be jailed and could face death, their supporters said as Beijing warned aid groups away from helping the refugees
- JANUARY 18, 2003North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
In what perhaps was a watershed year for North Carolina's...
In what perhaps was a watershed year for North Carolina's death penalty, more death row inmates got reduced sentences - or the chance at them - in 2002 than were allowed to die
- JANUARY 18, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
State media reported that 18 convicted criminals were...
State media reported that 18 convicted criminals were put to death, 11 of them by lethal injection, in an annual tradition of carrying out executions before the Lunar New Year
- JANUARY 15, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty controversy sparked by the commutation...
The death penalty controversy sparked by the commutation of all 167 death row inmates in Illinois may spread to Texas if two bills filed last week pass the state Legislature
- JANUARY 15, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
In Huntsville, John Baltazar, 30, was executed for...
In Huntsville, John Baltazar, 30, was executed for killing 5-year-old Adriana Marines on the night of Sept
- JANUARY 14, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Samuel Gallamore was executed
Samuel Gallamore was executed
- JANUARY 13, 2003Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
Fifteen people were executed in secret on January 7...
Fifteen people were executed in secret on January 7 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Amnesty and MISNA reported
- JANUARY 11, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court sentenced a teen-ager to death by...
An Iranian court sentenced a teen-ager to death by hanging after he was convicted for a third time of drinking alcohol, the state newspaper Iran said
- JANUARY 10, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan...
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in his state, pending an investigation into the state's capital punishment system
- JANUARY 10, 2003SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
Remand prisoner Kanesan Ratnam was hanged at approximately...
Remand prisoner Kanesan Ratnam was hanged at approximately 6 am in Changi Prison
- JANUARY 9, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Seven people were executed immediately after a public...
Seven people were executed immediately after a public sentencing rally in the southern Chinese city of Sanya
- JANUARY 8, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
Assi Dehlavi was hanged in the south-western city of Ahwaz
Assi Dehlavi was hanged in the south-western city of Ahwaz
- JANUARY 7, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
According National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty,...
According National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 224 death sentences have been imposed on juveniles since 1976 but only 21 have been carried out
- JANUARY 5, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted murderer was given a last minute reprieve...
A convicted murderer was given a last minute reprieve by the family of the victim in Saveh, south of Tehran
- JANUARY 4, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The head of a failed Chinese kindergarten was executed...
The head of a failed Chinese kindergarten was executed after being convicted of poisoning 70 children at a rival school, the official Xinhua news agency said
- JANUARY 3, 2003SudanDEATH PENALTY
The European Union called on Sudan to commute the sentences...
The European Union called on Sudan to commute the sentences of five people who had been sentenced to death and were to be executed on January 5, a statement issued by the Greek foreign ministry said
- JANUARY 1, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes, including...
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes, including robbery, hijacking, arms trading, drug trafficking, rape, and capital offenses, under Shari'a Law, introduced with governmental decrees, such as sexual relations between partners not married to ea
- JANUARY 1, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
The state-owned newspaper, Kayhan, reported that five...
The state-owned newspaper, Kayhan, reported that five prisoners had been hanged in two cities in Iran
- JANUARY 1, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Pakistan hanged Abdul Sattar, a murderer of two persons,...
Pakistan hanged Abdul Sattar, a murderer of two persons, in Machh Jail after postponing his execution five times
- JANUARY 1, 2003FranceDEATH PENALTY
The last public execution by guillotine was carried...
The last public execution by guillotine was carried out on June 17, 1939
- JANUARY 1, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
There were 865 executions in Britain during the first...
There were 865 executions in Britain during the first 64 years of the 20th century
- JANUARY 1, 2003BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty exists in Bangladesh as maximum punishment...
The death penalty exists in Bangladesh as maximum punishment for offences like murder, sedition, drug trafficking and acid throwing
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
In 2002, Hands Off Cain counted 49 executions, including...
In 2002, Hands Off Cain counted 49 executions, including at least one woman
- JANUARY 1, 2003EgyptDEATH PENALTY
Military and state security courts in Egypt sentenced...
Military and state security courts in Egypt sentenced more than 90 people to death since militant groups like al-Gama'a al-Islamiya took up arms against the state in 1992, and approximately 70 were executed, Reuters reported in March 2000
- JANUARY 1, 2003GhanaDEATH PENALTY
No executions have taken place since July 1993, when...
No executions have taken place since July 1993, when 12 prisoners who had been convicted of armed robbery or murder were executed by firing squad
- JANUARY 1, 2003ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
The last executions took place in 1997, when former...
The last executions took place in 1997, when former president Frederick Chiluba authorised the hanging of eight prisoners
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
As at December 31, 2002, 354 prisoners were on death...
As at December 31, 2002, 354 prisoners were on death row in Uganda according to the Prisons Department
- JANUARY 1, 2003KenyaDEATH PENALTY
The last hanging was in 1987, when the August 1, 1982,...
The last hanging was in 1987, when the August 1, 1982, coup plotters Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu were executed following a court-martial
- JANUARY 1, 2003KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by laws based on...
The death penalty is provided for by laws based on the Shari'a