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 1, 2001PakistanDEATH PENALTY
In the year 2001 (till November) 45 people were executed...
In the year 2001 (till November) 45 people were executed and the country's death row population was raised by another 591 convicts
- JANUARY 1, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded two men for murder, the Interior...
Saudi Arabia beheaded two men for murder, the Interior Ministry said
- JANUARY 1, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic...
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery
- JANUARY 1, 2001Governo Federale degli Stati UnitiDEATH PENALTY
The United States federal death penalty was first used...
The United States federal death penalty was first used on June 25, 1790, when Thomas Bird was hanged for murder in Maine
- JANUARY 1, 2001IrelandDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was removed from legislation in 1990,...
The death penalty was removed from legislation in 1990, but remains in the Constitution
- JANUARY 1, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty for murder was abolished in Britain...
The death penalty for murder was abolished in Britain on December 18, 1969
- JANUARY 1, 2001AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Australia abolished the death penalty for ordinary...
Australia abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 1984 and for wartime crimes in 1985
- JANUARY 1, 2001YemenDEATH PENALTY
Yemen applies the death penalty for rape and murder
Yemen applies the death penalty for rape and murder
- JANUARY 1, 2001SudanDEATH PENALTY
In accordance with Shari'a law, the Criminal Act provides...
In accordance with Shari'a law, the Criminal Act provides for physical punishments including flogging, amputation, stonings, and crucifixion--the public display of a body after execution
- JANUARY 1, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National...
Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National Party, the New National Party's (NNP) predecessor, executed an average of about 100 people a year in the 1980s, peaking at 187 in 1987 when 21 people were hanged in a single week at Pretoria's notoriou
- JANUARY 1, 2001GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
The Guatemalan Congress adopted lethal injection after...
The Guatemalan Congress adopted lethal injection after a botched firing squad execution in 1996 forced prison guards to finish off two men with pistol shots to the head, a gruesome scene replayed hundreds of times on local television
- JANUARY 1, 2001BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
- JANUARY 1, 2001Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
In Palestine three types of legislation are applied
In Palestine three types of legislation are applied
- JANUARY 1, 2001PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani judges handed down a total of more than 4,000...
Pakistani judges handed down a total of more than 4,000 death sentences, in trials that international rights groups complain were often miscarriages of justice
- JANUARY 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China also condemned to death and executed many people...
China also condemned to death and executed many people in accord with the national campaign against corruption, which was strengthened after March's annual session of the National People's Congress
- JANUARY 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China still holds the record for executions
China still holds the record for executions
- DECEMBER 23, 2000IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad said...
Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad said that India and Saudi Arabia would sign an agreement for co-operation in combating drug trafficking during Indian Foreign Minister
- DECEMBER 22, 2000Côte d’IvoireDEATH PENALTY
Human Rights Watch, has implicated the government of...
Human Rights Watch, has implicated the government of Cote d'Ivoire in the violence that claimed hundreds of lives during the 22 October presidential elections
- DECEMBER 19, 2000ArkansasDEATH PENALTY
David Dewayne Johnson, 37, black, was executed by lethal...
David Dewayne Johnson, 37, black, was executed by lethal injection in Cummins Prison, Varner
- DECEMBER 18, 2000ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Five criminals were executed in Beijing after being...
Five criminals were executed in Beijing after being convicted of violent crimes, including murder and armed robbery
- DECEMBER 17, 2000Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
A senior army officer denied allegations by a human...
A senior army officer denied allegations by a human rights group that a former security adviser of President Laurent Kabila and several other soldiers had been executed
- DECEMBER 15, 2000FloridaDEATH PENALTY
Frank Lee Smith, who had been convicted of a 1985 rape...
Frank Lee Smith, who had been convicted of a 1985 rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl, and who died of cancer 11 months ago while still on death row, was cleared of these charges according to an aide to Florida Gov
- DECEMBER 12, 2000ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Channel Four, a British television, reported that hundreds...
Channel Four, a British television, reported that hundreds of Malaysians on dialysis treatment have gone to China and paid the equivalent of 9C7,500 (S$18,900) to receive kidneys from executed criminals
- DECEMBER 7, 2000ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed Taiwan national Chen Kun-Zhang for producing...
China executed Taiwan national Chen Kun-Zhang for producing and selling 25kg of the drug "ice"
- DECEMBER 7, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
French President Jacques Chirac wrote a letter to his...
French President Jacques Chirac wrote a letter to his US counterpart Bill Clinton asking him to suspend the execution of a murderer who was condemned to death by a US federal court
- DECEMBER 7, 2000JordanDEATH PENALTY
Bilal Musa, convicted of robbing and murdering 11 people...
Bilal Musa, convicted of robbing and murdering 11 people in 10 separate crimes during a five-year span, was hanged at Swaqa prison at dawn
- DECEMBER 7, 2000FloridaDEATH PENALTY
Edward Castro, 50, of Latin-American origin was executed...
Edward Castro, 50, of Latin-American origin was executed by lethal injection
- DECEMBER 7, 2000TexasDEATH PENALTY
Claude Jones, 60, white, was executed by lethal injection
Claude Jones, 60, white, was executed by lethal injection
- DECEMBER 6, 2000VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
Christopher C
Christopher C
- DECEMBER 6, 2000TexasDEATH PENALTY
Daniel Hittle, 50, white, was executed by lethal injection
Daniel Hittle, 50, white, was executed by lethal injection