Chronological archive
May 2021
The 93 news items published by Hands Off Cain in May 2021, in chronological order.
NORTH KOREA: MAN EXECUTED FOR ILLEGALLY SELLING CDS AND USBS WITH S. KOREAN MOVIES, DRAMAS AND MUSIC VIDEOS
In late April, North Korean authorities publicly executed a man living in Wonsan (Gangwon Province) who illegally sold CDs and USBs filled with South Korean movies, dramas, and music videos.
MAY 31, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FATHER PARDONS SON’S KILLER MINUTES BEFORE EXECUTION
A convicted killer was “pardoned” by the Saudi father of his victim on 24 May 2021 morning, minutes before he was due to be executed.
MAY 31, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sexual abuse and harassment systematically to break the will of incarcerated women
May 27 group discussion on the Clubhouse social-media app
MAY 30, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - French tourist Benjamin Berier indicted on espionage charges
Another iranian case of hostage taking
MAY 30, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yousef and Shamsi Pirostovan (Pir-Ostovan) executed in Qazvin Prison on May 30
118th woman executed during Rouhani’s tenure
MAY 29, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 Baluch men executed in Birjand prison have been identified
Probably hanged on May 25, not on April 24
- MAY 28, 2021ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
ZIMBABWE UNVEILS SCULPTURE OF WOMAN HANGED FOR OPPOSING COLONIAL RULE
Zimbabwe’s president on 25 May 2021 unveiled a towering bronze statue in the centre of Harare, the capital, honouring a 19th-century black anti-colonialist heroine who was hanged for leading a rebellion against white occupation.
MAY 28, 2021ArizonaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Arizona. Gas chamber refurbished
Arizona plans to use hydrogen cyanide, the gas used by the Nazis at Auschwitz
- MAY 27, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR SLAYING BROTHER
An Egyptian court has sentenced a local man to death after convicting him of fatally stabbing his younger brother, Gulf News reported on 26 May 2021.
MAY 27, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: NIGERIAN RECEIVES DEATH FOR SMUGGLING METH
A Nigerian man was sentenced to death on 25 May 2021 for smuggling nearly six kilos of methamphetamine from Cambodia to Vietnam.
MAY 27, 2021NevadaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Nevada. Supreme Court overturns death sentence of Tracy Petrocelli
For 2nd time
- MAY 26, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR ‘DAMMAM KIDNAPPER’
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court on 24 May 2021 upheld the verdict issued by a criminal court in Dammam in September 2020, awarding the death penalty to a Saudi woman known in the media as the “Dammam kidnapper,” and jail terms for three other defendants, loc
MAY 26, 2021TaiwanDEATH PENALTYTAIWAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SCOOTER STABBING
A Taiwanese court on 26 May 2021 sentenced a man to death for killing a scooter driver in a random knife attack.
- MAY 25, 2021CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - California. Committee Recommends Repeal of Death Penalty
The state holds 1/3 of death row detainees of US
- MAY 25, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Balochistan is no less than Palestine
But no international reaction
- MAY 25, 2021SudanDEATH PENALTY
SUDAN: OFFICER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING PROTESTER
A Sudanese court sentenced to death on 24 May 2021 a paramilitary officer charged with killing a demonstrator during a deadly breakup of a protest camp in the capital, Khartoum, two years ago.
MAY 25, 2021FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Billy Wells sentenced to death
After his seventh murder conviction
MAY 25, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 12 MEMBERS OF NOTORIOUS ROBBER-GANG SENTENCED TO DEATH
A local court in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, on 24 May 2021 sentenced 12 members of a notorious gang to death and seven others to life imprisonment for highway robberies and murders.
MAY 24, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Michael Anthony Powell sentenced to death
MAY 24, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR DEFILING AND KILLING OWN DAUGHTER
A 33-year-old man of Chipili district who allegedly defiled and murdered his three-day old daughter was sentenced to death on 21 May 2021.
MAY 24, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: PATNA HIGH COURT ACQUITS 13 ACCUSED IN SENARI MASSACRE CASE
The Patna High Court on 21 May 2021 acquitted 13 accused persons in the Senari massacre case in which 34 persons were killed on 18 March 1999 by an erstwhile Maoist group in Senari village in central Bihar.
MAY 24, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kianoosh Ali-Moradi and Ahmad Qodrati executed at Isfahan Prison
On narcotic related charges
- MAY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Saleh Shariati, Juvenile Offender Sentenced to Death, Acquitted in Court
A "qassameh" case
MAY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Condemns New Ruling in Trumped-up Case Against Narges Mohammadi
Human rights defender
MAY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Kobra Fatemi, hanged in Yazd Prison on May 23
117th woman executed during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure
- MAY 22, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: HO CHI MINH CITY COURT SENTENCES THREE TO DEATH FOR DRUG OFFENSES
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on 19 May 2021 imposed the death penalty upon three men for a series of drug-related crimes.
MAY 22, 2021MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: COUPLE GET DEATH FOR KILLING EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SON
A married couple was sent to the gallows on 21 May 2021 by the High Court of Shah Alam after they were found guilty of murdering their eight-year-old son at a massage centre where they worked, four years ago.
- MAY 21, 2021DEATH PENALTY
USA - Life Without Parole Is A Death Sentence With Fewer Legal Protections
56,000 people serving life-without-parole sentences
MAY 21, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - According to PMOI / MEK, as of May 21 the death toll from Coronavirus is 294,800
The regime declared 78,194
MAY 20, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF FEMALE JUDGE
A woman was sentenced to death on 19 May 2021 after a court in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, identified her as having murdered a judge at the beginning of this year.
MAY 20, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HANOI DRUG MULE SENTENCED TO DEATH ON $650 JOB
A Hanoi man received a death sentence for transporting over 2.5 kilos of ecstasy into the city last year.
Show news 31–60 of 92
MAY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Younes and Abdullah Totazehi executed in Birjand Prison
For drugs
MAY 20, 2021FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Adam William Davis sentenced to life in prison.
- MAY 19, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: DEATH PENALTY AWARDED TO MURDER CONVICT COMMUTED TO LIFE SENTENCE
The Sindh High Court commuted on 18 May 2021 the death sentence awarded to a murder convict into life imprisonment.
MAY 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ghassem B. executed in Mashhad Prison on May 19
For sex crimes
MAY 19, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Quintin Jones was executed
without media witnesses
MAY 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A man, only identified as Sajad, executed in Mashhad Prison on May 19
For murder
- MAY 18, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
KOREA APPEARS TO HAVE EXECUTED TWO MEN FORCIBLY REPATRIATED BY S. KOREA TO N. KOREA IN 2019
Two North Koreans who crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) into South Korea in November of 2019 have reportedly appeared in educational materials published by North Korea’s Ministry of State Security.
MAY 18, 2021UgandaDEATH PENALTYUGANDA: THREE SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS IN JAIL FOR MURDER OF ERITREAN NATIONAL
The High Court in Kampala on 17 May 2021 sentenced three man to 50 years in Jail for the kidnap and killing of an Eritrean businessman.
MAY 18, 2021KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO KILLED A ‘THIEF’ WHO WASN’T A THIEF
A Court of Appeal on 13 May 2021 upheld a High Court’s judgement, which sentenced a middle-aged man to death for taking part in the killing of a man, who had been mistaken for a thief, the Standard reported on 18 May 2021.
MAY 18, 2021IdahoDEATH PENALTYUSA - Idaho. Pizzuto's Execution On Hold
Scheduled to be executed June 2, 2021
MAY 17, 2021South CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - South Carolina. Governor signs bill adding firing squad and elettrocution as options for executions
The new law becomes effective on May 17
MAY 17, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ahad Yektavatan and Amir Rezaei tortured to death
At Urmia Central Prison on May 17
MAY 17, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehran Narouyi executed in Isfahan Prison on May 17
On drug-related charges
- MAY 16, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Amir Bayati executed in Shiraz Prison on May 16
For murder
MAY 16, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jamal Mohammadi executed in Ilam Prison on May 16
For murder
- MAY 15, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 Baluch executed in Ghaen Prison
over the past three months
- MAY 15, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Alimorad Zabiei executed in Qazvin Prison on May 15
For drugs
MAY 15, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Behzad Adl was hanged on May 15 in Adelabad Prison
In Shiraz. For 3 counts of rape.
MAY 15, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: THIRTY SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ANTI-POLICE CLASHES
Thirty people were sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 May 2021 after a one-day trial for their role in anti-police violence marking the end of Ramadan in the capital.
MAY 15, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ebrahim Raisi nominated for presidential election
He was on the "Death Commission"
MAY 14, 2021North CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - North Carolina. Exonerees McCollum and Brown get $75M
They already had 10
- MAY 14, 2021North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - North Carolina. William Barnes gets 2 life sentences
Sentenced to death in 1994
- MAY 14, 2021FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. New sentencing hearing for 5 death row prisoners
Joseph Smith, David Sylvester Frances, Pinkney W. Carter, Gerald Delane Murray and Brandon Lee Bradley
- MAY 13, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Saba Kord Afshari on hunger strike
Women's right activist
- MAY 13, 2021NevadaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Nevada. Democrats Squander Opportunity To End Death Penalty
Gov. Sisolak walked back his position
MAY 13, 2021Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTYSIERRA LEONE: GOVERNMENT MOVES TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Sierra Leone's government will move to abolish the death penalty in the West African state, deputy justice minister Umaru Napoleon Koroma said on 12 May 2021.
MAY 13, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE ON LUWINGU MAN
The Supreme Court of Zambia has upheld a death sentence slapped on a man of Mporokoso who was convicted of robbing a family of money, the Daily Mail reported on 13 May 2021.
- MAY 13, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Carnell Petetan’s death sentence vacated
- MAY 12, 2021Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
MYANMAR STILL IN TURMOIL 100 DAYS SINCE MILITARY COUP
At least 783 people have been killed by the Myanmar military as of 11 May since a February coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
MAY 12, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: CHIPATA HIGH COURT SENTENCES THREE TO DEATH
The Chipata High Court has sentenced three people to death by hanging, in two different cases, the Mast reported on 12 May 2021.
Show news 61–90 of 92
- MAY 12, 2021South CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - South Carolina. Senate re-approved firing squad and elettrocution
the law now goes to Governor
MAY 12, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Carnell Petetan' death sentence overturned
For intellectual disability
- MAY 11, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA TO RELEASE 1,100 PAKISTANI PRISONERS
Pakistan on 10 May 2021 said that 1,100 of its nationals imprisoned in Saudi Arabia will return to the country soon after agreements were reached with Riyadh on the release of inmates.
- MAY 11, 2021TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
USA - Tennessee. Governor signed law that prohibits execution of intellectually disabled
MAY 11, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTYNORTH KOREA: KIM JONG UN HAD CONDUCTOR EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD FOLLOWING CELEBRATION, SOUTH KOREAN PAPER SAYS
A recent report from a South Korean newspaper said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of a choir conductor, who was allegedly shot 90 times in front of members of the public.
MAY 10, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH A SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE FOR INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE
Nanchong Intermediate People’s Court recently sentenced to death a man for intentional homicide, with a two-year reprieve depriving him of political rights for life, China News reported on 7 May 2021.
MAY 10, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MONK EXECUTED FOR MURDER OF BISHOP AT MONASTERY
The Egypt Prison Authority carried out the death penalty on a monk who killed the abbot of his monastery in 2018, a lawyer and the monk's brother told Reuters on 9 May 2021.
- MAY 10, 2021Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
SIERRA LEONE: YOUNG MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH AMID DEBATE TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Sierra Leone’s High Court Resident Judge in the Kailahun District of the country – Justice Francis Banks-Kamara, on 7 May 2021 sentenced a young man – Kholie Tamba to death by hanging, after he was found guilty of murder.
MAY 9, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sivan Hosseini will be executed at the end of Ramadan
(also written Hossein Sivan)
MAY 8, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN AWARDED DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERING WIFE, RAPING DAUGHTER
In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, The Pudukkottai Mahila Court on 6 May 2021 awarded death penalty to a man for murdering his wife and sexually assaulting his daughter.
MAY 8, 2021GuyanaDEATH PENALTYGUYANA: COURT UPHOLDS WIFE KILLER’S CONVICTION BUT SETS ASIDE DEATH SENTENCE
The Guyana Court of Appeal on 7 May 2021 upheld the conviction of Rupert Browne for the 2011 murder of his common-law wife, Seema Singh, but set aside the death sentence imposed upon him.
- MAY 6, 2021Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
SIERRA LEONE MAY SOON ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY
The President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Eddinia Michaela Swallow, last week took part in a roundtable discussion on the abolition of the death penalty in Sierra Leone.
MAY 6, 2021OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Miles Sterling Bench’s death sentence overturned
for McGirt
MAY 6, 2021UgandaDEATH PENALTYUGANDA: PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW HOMOPHOBIC BILL
The Ugandan Parliament on 3 May 2021 passed the Sexual Offences Bill 2019, further outlawing “unnatural” same-sex relations and doubling down on laws criminalising the LGBT community.
MAY 5, 2021BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCE FOR VIKTAR SKRUNDZIK
The Judicial Chamber on Criminal Case of the Supreme Court of Belarus has dismissed an appeal filed by death row prisoner Viktar Skrundzik, Human Rights Center "Viasna" reported on 4 May 2021.
- MAY 5, 2021South CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
USA - South Carolina. House adds firing squad and electrocution to execution methods
MAY 5, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR SLAYING DENTIST
According to legal sources, an Egyptian court has convicted a man on fatally stabbing a dentist and sentenced him to death, the Gulf News reported on 5 May 2021.
MAY 5, 2021IdahoDEATH PENALTYUSA - Idaho. Idaho will execute an Italian American with terminal cancer: Gerald Ross Pizzuto
On June 2
- MAY 4, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN DECRIES EU PARLIAMENT’S MOVE ON BLASPHEMY LAWS
Pakistan on 30 April 2021 decried a move by the European Parliament, which a day earlier adopted a resolution demanding Islamabad allow freedom for religious minorities.
- MAY 4, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA: POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A police officer on 4 May 2021 was sentenced to death by hanging for shooting dead a Zambia Air Force employee at Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) offices in Chipata in 2019.
MAY 4, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. House votes to end 'law of parties' in death penalty cases
HB 1340 passed 139-4
MAY 4, 2021ArkansasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Arkansas. DNA tests cast doubt on the guilt of Ledell Lee
Executed 4 years ago.
MAY 4, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Monfared beheaded by his family
because of his sexual orientation
- MAY 3, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Jury recommends death sentence for Michael Anthony Powell
MAY 3, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTYNORTH KOREA: KIM JONG UN 'HAS OFFICIAL EXECUTED FOR IMPORTING CHEAP CHINESE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT’
North Korea has executed a party official after he defied Kim Jong-un in the hope of getting an empty showpiece hospital opened to patients, South Korea's Daily NK newspaper reported on 23 April 2021.
MAY 3, 2021BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: LUKASHENKO PARDONS 2 BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Illya Kostseu (21) and Stanislau Kostseu (19), who were sentenced to death in January 2020, have been pardoned, human rights centre Viasna reported on 30 April 2021 with reference to the family.
MAY 3, 2021CaliforniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - California. Sandi Dawn Nieves' death sentence overturned
For murdering her 4 young daughters
- MAY 3, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Poll Shows Decreasing Support for Death Penalty
from 78 to 63% in 10 years
- MAY 3, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Parviz Barzoo and Shamila Arabzadeh summoned to jail
for converting to Christianity
- MAY 1, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Why a few counties generate most of the death sentences
“Learning to kill", by Frank R. Baumgartner
Show news 91–92 of 92
- MAY 1, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA: MAZABUKA MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING SCHOOL GIRL
The High Court sitting in Mazabuka, Zambia, on 29 April 2021 sentenced to death by hanging 21-year-old Michelo Siangumba of Mazabuka for the murder of Tina Chingumbe Muyuni Mweene, who was a pupil at Mazabuka Girls Secondary School.
MAY 1, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED 4 COUNTS OF DEATH PENALTY IN QUADRUPLE MURDER CASE
A man convicted of killing four people in Rawalpindi Airport area has been handed four counts of death penalty, two life terms, 25 years imprisonment and Rs3.4 million in fines and compensation to victim families, The Nation reported on 28 April 2021.