Iran, Which Executed Nearly 1,000 Last Year, Considers Cutting Back, But Bill Will Face Considerable Opposition From Hard-Liners

Iran: Medieval and barbaric punishments

Iran, which puts more people to death every year than any other country in the world but China, is debating a measure that could significantly cut the number of executions, local news outlets reported on Tuesday. But the bill seems certain to face considerable opposition from hard-liners in the judiciary.

A newly installed Parliament, thought to be more liberal than its predecessor but, until now, unwilling to take any unorthodox steps, is considering a bill that would abolish the death penalty for drug smugglers, who account for a large majority of those executed. While the government does not release figures on capital punishment, the local news media said that 950 people had been hanged in 2015. Human rights groups say the total could have been as high as 1,500, and the United Nations put the number at nearly 1,000.

Possession of as little as 30 grams of heroin is enough under Iranian law to face execution by hanging. Nevertheless, drug addiction and smuggling are rampant, officials acknowledge.

"We want to eliminate the death penalty for those criminals who act out of desperation," Yahya Kamalpour, a reformist lawmaker, told the semiofficial ISNA news agency. "We need a scientific and not an emotional approach to this problem."

In a sign of changing attitudes toward capital punishment, public hangings have become rare, and those that do take place are usually sparsely attended.

Representatives of the conservative judiciary have signaled that they will resist any effort to change Iran's penal code, which they believe reflects Islamic values and culture. They emphasize that these values supersede even universal human rights and cannot be changed.

Anticipating the bill's introduction, the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, called criticism of capital punishment "inappropriate." Speaking with the semiofficial Fars news agency last week, he said, "If the judiciary had not taken a tough stance, the situation would have been very bad, and drugs would have been available even at traditional medicine stores."

Even if it were to win approval from the Parliament, the bill would still need to be confirmed by the Guardian Council, which is dominated by hard-liners. The position of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on such changes, is unclear.

Conservatives said they doubted that the measure could survive the determined opposition of the judiciary. "Be sure they won't accept such a bill when the judiciary opposes it," said Hamidreza Taraghi, an analyst with strong ties to the hard-line faction. "The only wish of the parliamentarians is to please the West."

The proposal is one of the first provocative plans to emerge from the new Parliament, which was installed in August after elections in May. Although no political faction holds a majority, the consensus was that the influence of hard-liners on the assembly was not as strong as it had been.

Source: New York Times, October 4, 2016

⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Israel passes death penalty law for terrorists convicted of deadly attacks

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure that has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane. The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a years-long drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to vote for the bill in person. The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings. It also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges — language that legal experts say effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.

Pentobarbital Sodium Is Used to End Suffering — and Also to Execute People. The Debate Is Getting Louder.

In a prison in Arizona, a tiny vial is kept in a refrigerator. Or there was—the precise state of what’s inside is still up for debate. The contents may have expired, according to a retired judge looking into the state’s execution procedures. They would not expire, according to prison officials. This could not be independently verified by anyone outside the prison. Pentobarbital sodium is the drug in question, and the fact that its storage conditions in a correctional facility are now the focus of legal investigation indicates how far this specific compound has deviated from its intended use.

Saudi Arabia executes man convicted on terrorism-related charges

A man convicted on terrorism-related charges has been executed in Saudi Arabia following a final court ruling, according to an official statement from the Interior Ministry and reporting patterns consistent with international news agencies. The Interior Ministry said the individual, identified as Saoud bin Muhammad bin Ali al-Faraj, was convicted of multiple offenses including alleged affiliation with a foreign-linked terrorist organization, targeting security personnel, supporting and financing terrorist activities, harboring suspects, manufacturing explosives, and illegal possession of weapons.The case was initially investigated by security authorities before being referred to the judiciary.

Faith Leaders, Advocates Plan Protests Against Firms Tied to Idaho Execution Chamber Project

BOISE, Idaho — Faith leaders, community advocates and relatives of a person executed by firing squad are joining national advocacy groups to protest firms involved in constructing Idaho’s execution chamber, as states increasingly turn to alternative methods amid lethal injection drug shortages. Due to the refusal of pharmaceutical companies, especially in the past decade, many states have had to find alternative methods because of extensive shortages of lethal injection drugs. Further, this has led the state of Idaho to pass legislation authorizing execution by firing squad, which is one of the most aggressive among alternative methods.

Florida Supreme Court halts execution of police officer convicted of raping, murdering girl

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.

Sonia Sotomayor Warns That Texas May Execute an Innocent Man

Law is, as legal scholars and commentators have long recognized , both a refuge for those seeking to escape abuses of power and a trap in which their claims of justice get lost in a maze of statutory intricacies. Nowhere has this been more clearly on display than in the world of capital punishment. Over the span of half a century, the Supreme Court has gone from championing the rights of capital defendants and death row inmates to deflecting and denying their pursuit of justice. Where once the court carefully scrutinized procedures used in death cases, insisting that they had to conform to the dictates of so-called super due process , today it has made the due process accorded in those cases not super at all .

Iranian Gay Activist: "They Forced Me to Watch Executions So I Would Know How Mine Would Be"

Iranian LGBT activist now living as a refugee in Spain. He was sentenced to death by the ayatollah regime for being homosexual and for his support campaign for the community. "The enemy was already at home," he says about the current war In 11 countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death - it is criminalized in almost 70 countries. One of them is the Islamic Republic of Iran, from where Ramtin Zigorat (Tabriz, 1988) managed to escape after avoiding a death sentence and enduring the worst tortures. He has been living as a refugee in Spain for six and a half years. Question . His life, his testimony, can help us better understand what the Iranian Islamist regime is. I believe that until adolescence, you did not fully understand that you were homosexual.

Arizona | Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution Warrant, Citing 2025 Cyberattack and Protocol Failures

Leroy Dean McGill was sentenced to death for a 2002 gasoline attack in North Phoenix against a couple, Charles Perez and Nova Banta. PHOENIX — Attorneys for Arizona death row inmate Leroy Dean McGill have formally challenged the state’s attempt to secure an execution warrant, citing a catastrophic 2025 cyberattack and a long history of troubled lethal injection protocols. The challenge comes as Arizona seeks to resume capital punishment following a year-long hiatus. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the state’s request, McGill would become the first person executed in the state since 2024.

Once Nevada’s youngest on death row, double murderer paroled as victims’ family claims silence from state

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog