Death Penalty News

Case termed ‘rarest of rare’ In a landmark verdict, a court in Tamil Nadu on 6 April sentenced nine police personnel to death in the 2020 Sathankulam custodial deaths case, holding them guilty of the brutal killing of a father-son duo. First Additional District and Sessions Judge G Muthukumaran classified the case as the “rarest of rare”, observing that those entrusted with protecting citizens had committed a crime that “shook the collective conscience of society”. The court awarded capital punishment to all nine convicted personnel for the murder of P Jayaraj and his son J Bennix.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 6 April 2026: State media reported the execution of Ali Fahim, a 23-year-old protester arrested at the 8 January protests in Tehran. He is the fourth defendant in the case to be hanged in five days. His co-defendants Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar are at grave and imminent risk of execution. Condemning Ali Fahim’s execution in the strongest terms, IHRNGO calls on the international community and civil society organisations to react strongly to the daily execution of political prisoners in Iran.

Two more death sentences have been carried out in Iran in connection with the recent mass protests. According to the Fars news agency, they are Shahin Vahedparast Kaloor (30) and Mohammedamin Biglari (19).  The judiciary accuses them of breaking into a "militarily classified site" of the paramilitary Basij militia in Tehran together with others and setting fire there. An attempted theft of weapons is said to have failed.

Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a foreign ministry statement. Phoumy, who was born in Laos, had been sentenced to death in 2010 following a conviction for drug trafficking. Despite sustained diplomatic pressure and formal requests for clemency on humanitarian grounds, Chinese authorities proceeded with the capital sentence.  A massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation Chan Thao Phoumy was convicted for his involvement in a massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation that remains one of the largest drug-related cases in Chinese history. Phoumy and his accomplices were convicted of manufacturing approximately 8 tons of crystal methamphetamine between 1999 and 2003.

The high court ruled in 2002 that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Supreme Court will clarify how IQ scores should be evaluated when a death sentence is barred based on an intellectual disability. The court already ruled in 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia , that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” but justices did not define intellectual disability.

Nearly 2 years after a Cumberland County mother was arrested in the deaths of her adoptive children, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty in the high-profile case.  Avantae Deven faces 5 felony charges, including child abuse and 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Blake and London Deven. A grand jury indicted her on March 10. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 6.  "I think it's good," said John Whitker, Deven's next-door neighbor on Berridale Drive. "She knew what she was doing. She was planning, and then she starved them. She took advantage of the lowest common denominator." 

Ani Anggraeni spent nearly 15 years in prison for drug trafficking before her death sentence was commuted and she was later pardoned An Indonesian woman who spent nearly 15 years on death row in a Malaysian prison for drug trafficking has returned home after receiving clemency, in a case rights groups say highlights the exploitation of poor migrant women in cross-border drug operations. Ani Anggraeni, also known as Asih, boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta late on Thursday after being freed from custody.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities executed two men Saturday morning on charges of armed rebellion and membership in a banned opposition group, marking a continuation of a sharp increase in capital punishment following recent regional hostilities. The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online news portal identified the men as Abolhassan Montazer, 68, and Vahid Baniamerian, 34. Both were convicted of "armed rebellion" ( baghy ) and involvement in terrorist activities on behalf of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The judiciary alleged the men planned and executed explosions in Tehran using rocket launchers. The executions were carried out after the Supreme Court confirmed their death sentences, which originated from a Revolutionary Court trial in late 2024.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) 2 April 2026: State media reported the execution of Amirhossein Hatami, an 18-year-old protester arrested at the 8 January protest in Tehran. He was one of seven defendants sentenced to death by “Death Judge” Salavati a month after being arrested. Condemning the execution in the strongest terms, IHRNGO once again draws the international community’s attention to the Islamic Republic’s use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression, and the ongoing execution of political prisoners in the shadow of the war.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump removed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, ending a 14-month tenure defined by a sweeping overhaul of the Justice Department and a hard-line approach to federal law enforcement. The president announced the decision on social media, naming Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general.

A capital punishment case costs $1 to $3 million more than if the state sought a life sentence. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The 2025 Capital Crimes report from the Ohio Attorney General is out, and even though a state execution hasn’t been carried out in Ohio in nearly a decade, it has still cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.   The state hasn’t executed anyone since 2018, meaning the more than 100 people on death row are essentially serving life sentences. In an interview with NBC4 Investigates, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost called the state’s capital punishment system “paralyzed.” The latest report from Yost’s office said that if the trend continues, it could lead to the number of those on death row who die from natural causes or suicide to surpass those who have been executed. 

OHIO — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a new report renewing his call to move forward with the death penalty. Yost said the unofficial moratorium is a "mockery" to families and victims, but advocacy groups are pushing back, saying innocent lives are at stake. In Ohio there are currently 12 people who were wrongfully convicted and exonerated from death row, but Yost said it’s past time to do what’s right for the victims. “It’s time for us to recognize that justice requires action,” Yost said. “Today we issued the annual Capital Crimes report we’re required to do that by law and it continues to document a system that is working to protect against unjust convictions and sentences, but is not working because we haven’t actually carried out since 2018.”

  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will leave office in January 2027 after the 2026 gubernatorial election. Florida's constitution limits governors to two consecutive four-year terms. DeSantis was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, so he is term-limited and cannot run for a third consecutive term in the November 3, 2026 election. TALLAHASSEE — As Gov. Ron DeSantis exits office, one of the legacies he‘ll leave behind is a record-shattering embrace of the death penalty.

James Broadnax, a Texas death-sen­tenced pris­on­er, is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed on April 30, 2026. He was con­vict­ed in 2009 by a Dallas County jury for the mur­ders of two music pro­duc­ers, Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler, who were shot and killed out­side their record­ing stu­dio in 2008. On March 19, 2026, a lit­tle more than a month before his sched­uled exe­cu­tion, attor­neys for Mr. Broadnax filed a new appeal and a sworn affi­davit from his code­fen­dant and cousin Demarius Cummings, in which Mr. Cummings admits that he, not Mr. Broadnax, shot the vic­tims. The new fil­ing asks the Texas courts to stay Mr. Broadnax’s exe­cu­tion date, to remand the case to the tri­al court, and to ulti­mate­ly vacate Mr. Broadnax’s death sentence.

AMERICAN FORK, Utah (DPN) — Law enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday that forensic evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the remains of a teenager discovered more than 50 years ago in American Fork Canyon. The breakthrough, finalized in April 2026, concludes one of Utah’s oldest unidentified persons cases. The victim, whose identity is being withheld pending full family notification, was a teenager reported missing from the Wasatch Front in 1974.

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.

Iran has begun to strictly enforce its new espionage law in an environment of rising tensions; Judiciary Spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated that even sharing photos and videos containing information with the U.S. and Israel would be considered "collaboration with the enemy" and that this crime would be punishable by death. People accused of spying or cooperating with “hostile states” could face the death penalty and confiscation of all assets under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson says, a month into the war with the United States and Israel. Under the law accepted and expanded in scope last October, sharing photos or videos of "damaged areas" is also considered a crime. The spokesperson argued that such content confirms the accuracy of targets, stating, "These images inform the enemy that the target has been accurately hit. Providing such information is equivalent to collaborating with the enemy in the field of intelligence." Irania...

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.

The Knesset is set to vote on the far-right Otzma Yehudit party’s controversial bill to legislate the death penalty for terrorists in its second and third readings. The bill is likely to be passed despite reported pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Otzma Yehudit chair to withdraw the bill. It is among a series of last-minute laws that the coalition is trying to advance prior to the end of the current Knesset legislative session tomorrow and the beginning of the Knesset’s Passover recess.