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, 1999IraqDEATH PENALTY
In mid-January, Col
In mid-January, Col
- JANUARY 1, 1999IraqDEATH PENALTY
In January, 106 political detainees were killed in...
In January, 106 political detainees were killed in three mass executions in Abu Ghurayb prison near Baghdad, the Iraqi Communist Party accused in a statement faxed to Reuters in Cairo on April 19
- JANUARY 1, 1999Hong Kong SAR ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Hong Kong, a special Administrative Region of the People's...
Hong Kong, a special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, has been abolitionist since 1993
- JANUARY 1, 1999IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran has executed nearly 2,000 drug dealers and traffickers...
Iran has executed nearly 2,000 drug dealers and traffickers since 1989
- JANUARY 1, 1999North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
A commentary on Korean Criminal Law considers the use...
A commentary on Korean Criminal Law considers the use of the death penalty as a last resort, in view of eventual abolition
- JANUARY 1, 1999YemenDEATH PENALTY
Capital crime is premeditated murder
Capital crime is premeditated murder
- JANUARY 1, 1999CubaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty has been used in Cuba since the 1959...
The death penalty has been used in Cuba since the 1959 revolution, after which Castro's triumphant revolutionary forces tried and executed scores of supporters of former dictator Fulgencio Batista
- JANUARY 1, 1999GuatemalaDEATH 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, 1999NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Code...
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Code and the legislation on civil disturbances for armed robbery, murder, treason, and offenses against the State
- JANUARY 1, 1999Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
- JANUARY 1, 1999SomaliaDEATH PENALTY
In January, Majertein militia loyal to Mohamed Said...
In January, Majertein militia loyal to Mohamed Said Hersi, known as General Morgan, said in a statement that 9 Majertein prisoners captured the first week of January, during a round of fighting had been executed two weeks after by the Marehan Somali Natio
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In 1999, five foreign nationals - a Thai, a Filipino,...
In 1999, five foreign nationals - a Thai, a Filipino, a Canadian and two German brothers - were executed in the United States
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The results of two new studies underscore the continuing...
The results of two new studies underscore the continuing injustice of racism in the application of the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 1999ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
Arizona executed two German citizens, Karl and Walter...
Arizona executed two German citizens, Karl and Walter LaGrand, Karl on February 24 and Walter on March 3, for killing a bank manager in Arizona in 1982