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
APRIL 17, 2024JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: DEATH-ROW INMATES' LAWSUIT TARGETING SAME-DAY NOTIFICATIONS OF EXECUTIONS DISMISSED
The Osaka District Court on April 15, 2024 dismissed a lawsuit by death row inmates that claimed same-day notifications of executions violate the Constitution — the first ruling of its kind.
APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Two men executed in Karaj on April 17, 2024
Sadegh Tajik + Unk
- APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Karaj on April 17
APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Valiollah Bakhtavar executed in Tabriz on April 17
APRIL 16, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Afshin Bagh-Shirin executed in Urmia on April 16
APRIL 16, 2024LouisianaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Louisiana. Louisiana might remove nitrogen gas as an execution option
Senate Bill 430 passes Justice Committee
APRIL 15, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 unidentified men executed in Mashhad on April 15
After the traditional slowdown during Ramadan, executions in Iran have resumed at full speed
APRIL 14, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Arsalan Hashemi executed in Hamedan on April 14
APRIL 14, 2024NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING RIVERS VIGILANTE COMMANDER
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, on March 18, 2024, convicted and sentenced five people to death by hanging for the murder of Umezuruike Alex, the commander of a local vigilante codenamed OSPAC (Onelga Security Peace and Advisory Commit
APRIL 13, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abuzar Salem executed in Isfahan on April 13
APRIL 11, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Esmaeil Hosniani and Marjan Hajizadeh executed in Zanjan on April 11
Husband and 19 year old wife
APRIL 10, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 82 Rights Groups: UNODC Must Stop Complicity in Drug Executions in Iran
Hands off Cain amongst the signatories
APRIL 10, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hadi Mirgozar executed on April 10 at unspecified prison
APRIL 9, 2024MissouriDEATH PENALTYUSA - Missouri. Brian Dorsey, 52, White, was executed
5th prisoner executed in the U.S. this year
APRIL 9, 2024OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Jewish leaders opposing use of gas in executions
Ohio House Bill 392
APRIL 7, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Marzban executed in Shiraz on April 7
APRIL 5, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hassan Ali Mirzania executed in Khorramabad on April 5
APRIL 5, 2024AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Derrick Dearman Asks to Be Executed
APRIL 4, 2024OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Michael Dewayne Smith, 41, Black, was executed
APRIL 2, 2024OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. Attorney general report says Ohio's death penalty is "unworkable"
Dave Yost backs bill to change it
MARCH 31, 2024SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: A COURT IN GALMUDUG STATE EXECUTES TWO MEN BY FIRING SQUAD FOR MURDER
A court in the Galgadud region on March 28, 2024 executed two men by firing squad for murder, in different cases.
MARCH 29, 2024OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. James Ryder not competent to be executed
MARCH 29, 2024AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Alan Eugene Miller’s lawsuit seeks to block 2nd execution using nitrogen gas
Miller survived a 2022 lethal injection attempt
MARCH 27, 2024YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: HOUTHIS SENTENCE MEN TO DEATH, FLOGGING
A Houthi court sentenced 32 men, 9 of them to death, on January 23, 2024, in an unfair mass trial based on dubious charges of “sodomy,” Human Rights Watch said on March 27, 2024.
MARCH 26, 2024CaliforniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - California. San Quentin’s death row empties
2/3 of death row inmates transferred to “normal” maximum security prisons
MARCH 25, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 2 men and 1 woman executed in Tabriz
Abbas Aghayi, Yasin Zolfaghari and his unidentified wife
MARCH 21, 2024DEATH PENALTYRECORD NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXECUTED FOR DRUG OFFENCES IN 2023
At least 467 people were executed for drug offences in 2023, a new record, according to Harm Reduction International (HRI), an NGO that has been tracking the use of the death penalty for drugs since 2007.
MARCH 20, 2024MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: MAN GETS DEATH FOR 200KG OF DRUGS IN TAWAU
A mechanic was sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court on March 8, 2024 for trafficking nearly 200kg of syabu.
MARCH 20, 2024GeorgiaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Georgia. Willie Pye, 59, Black, was executed
3rd execution of 2024 in the US
MARCH 20, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - “Black Tuesdays” Hunger Strikes Against the Death Penalty
Political prisoners from five prisons