Death Penalty News

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 19, 2024: Mahmoud Bameri, a Baluch man who was sentenced to death for both murder and moharebeh charges, was secretly executed for the latter in Kahnuj Prison after paying blood money in the murder case. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Baluch man was secretly executed in Kahnuj Prison on 17 October. His identity has been established as 45-year-old Mahmoud Bameri (Sabaki) who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court and moharebeh (enmity against god) by the Revolutionary Court for allegedly killing a policeman.

The chief of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police on Monday offered an apology in person to Iwao Hakamada at his home in Shizuoka Prefecture following his acquittal in a retrial over a 1966 murder case last month. Takayoshi Tsuda visited the home of Hakamada, 88, in the city of Hamamatsu, bowing deeply for about two minutes. “I am sorry for the pain and burden I have caused you over the last 58 years, which cannot be expressed in words,” Tsuda said to Hakamada and his older sister Hideko, 91, who fought a decades-long legal battle on behalf of her brother.

The cost to maintain Idaho’s execution capabilities for prisoners sentenced to death, including upgrades to the area planned for a firing squad, has grown to nearly $1.3 million , according to the state’s prison system. The Idaho Department of Correction issued notice last week of changes to its procedures for lethal injection. These changes include the construction of an “execution preparation room” just before prisoners enter the execution chamber at the state’s maximum-security prison south of Boise. There, execution team members, with help from a “qualified physician,” will decide whether to use a standard IV or heightened means to inject the lethal chemicals.

19th September 2024 – (Qingdao) A 25-year-old man, Li Mouyong, was sentenced to death by the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court on October 18 for the brutal murders of two kindergarten teachers in Pingdu, Shandong Province.  The court found Li guilty of intentional homicide, stripping him of his political rights for life. The tragic incident occurred on 11th December, when Li forcibly entered the rented accommodation of the two teachers, fatally stabbing one, Li Moufei, before proceeding to kill another teacher, Liu. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 16, 2024: Amar Assian, a policeman on death row for murder, was executed in Kerman Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Kerman Central Prison on 13 October. His identity has been established Amar Assian who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 16, 2024: Younes Akhtar Samar, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) based on elme-qazi and a qassameh ceremony due to the lack of evidence against him, was executed in Jiroft Prison after his family failed to raise the €300k blood money. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Jiroft Prison on 14 October. His identity has been established as Younes Akhtar Samar who was sentenced to qisas based on elm-e-qazi (knowledge of the judge) and a qassameh ceremony.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 17, 2024: Mohsen Mokhtari, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Shiraz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Shiraz Central (Adel Abad) Prison on 16 October. His identity has been established as Mohsen Mokhtari from Shiraz who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohsen Mokhtar was arrested for murder five years ago. He was transferred to the gallows from Ward 10 of the prison.”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 19, 2024: At least 6 men including four Afghan nationals were executed for drug-related and murder charges in Ghezelhesar Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least six men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 16 October. Four of the men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges. Three of their identities have been established as Javid Ahmadi and Afghan nationals Abdolbari Tajik and Pasha Pashto. The fourth man has not been identified at the time of writing.

HAMAMATSU, Japan (AP) — Hideko Hakamada, 91, spent much of her life working to free her brother from nearly a half-century on death row. Now that he has been acquitted she feels that the siblings are beginning a new chapter of their lives. She backed her brother, Iwao Hakamada, the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, through decades of frustrating, at times apparently hopeless, legal wrangling as his mental condition worsened.

Derrick Dearman, who killed 5 in south Alabama axe murders, executed Thursday  Alabama death row inmate Derrick Dearman, who was convicted in the 2016 slayings of 5 people with an axe and 2 guns, was put to death Thursday night by lethal injection. He had given up his appeals earlier this year and volunteered to have his execution set.

The Texas Supreme Court halted Thursday night’s scheduled execution of a man who would have become the 1st person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. Supporters of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, turned to the Texas high court, which normally does not get involved in criminal cases, after both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, earlier in the day rejected appeals to halt his lethal injection.

A Chinese woman is facing the death penalty after a retrial revealed she had kidnapped and trafficked 17 children over two decades, in collaboration with her husband and lover—starting with her own son. A court in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province in southwest China, commenced a retrial last Friday for a high-profile child abduction and trafficking case, following the discovery of new evidence. The case centers on Yu Huaying, 61, who was sentenced to death last year by the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court for kidnapping and trafficking 11 children in the 1990s for profit.

Alabama is preparing to execute a man who admitted to killing five people with an ax and gun during a 2016 drug-fueled rampage and dropped his appeals, so his execution go forward. Derrick Dearman, 36, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in south Alabama.

A day after Idaho prison’s system advised that it is again ready to perform a lethal injection, an Ada County judge issued the latest death warrant for Thomas Creech, the state’s longest-serving death row prisoner, and scheduled him for another execution.  Creech, 74, is now set to be executed on Nov. 13. If fulfilled, the execution would be Idaho’s first in more than a dozen years. Prison officials called off Creech’s planned execution earlier this year when for nearly an hour they were unable to locate a suitable vein for an IV to inject him with the lethal chemicals. 

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, Aravind Kumar and K V Viswanathan set aside the death penalty but sentenced the accused to 20 years in jail. The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted the death penalty of a man, who had murdered his pregnant daughter for performing an inter-caste marriage against her family's will. A bench of Justices B R Gavai, Aravind Kumar and K V Viswanathan set aside the death penalty but upheld the conviction of Eknath Kisan Kumbharkar from Nashik district in Maharashtra and sentenced him to 20 years in jail instead.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 14, 2024: Hadi Fallah, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 9th October. His identity has been established as 31-year-old Hadi Fallah from Eram-Tabriz.  An informed source told IHRNGO that Hadi was arrested for carrying drugs along with another individual three years ago. Hadi was sentenced to death, and his co-defendant was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court.

The Los Angeles district attorney has released new evidence in the Lyle and Erik Menendez case that could potentially lead to a review of their life sentences for murder. After their first widely publicized trial ended in a mistrial, a jury convicted the Menendez brothers of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, following a second trial in 1996. While they never denied killing their parents, the brothers claimed they acted in self-defense and were lifelong victims of sexual abuse by their father. During the second trial, prosecutors argued the “abuse didn’t happen” and the judge overseeing the case did not allow much of the defense’s evidence of abuse to be presented, according to the brothers’ attorneys.

During the French annexation, 36 prisoners were executed using this device. Built in 1799, this structure basically consists of a tall, vertical oak frame fitted with a heavy steel blade with an oblique cutting edge and suspended from the top. It was designed for a rapid execution by decapitation of those who were condemned to death in the Swiss canton of Geneva during the French period. Today it is part of the Permanent Collection at the Tavel House, the oldest building in Geneva.  

Japan should be ensuring the safety of its citizens, but instead it is taking people's lives. Is it acceptable to maintain the ultimate penalty under such circumstances? This is a serious question for society. The acquittal of 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who had been handed the death penalty, has been finalized after prosecutors decided not to appeal the verdict issued by the Shizuoka District Court during his retrial.

The execution of 10 prisoners, previously sentenced to death on charges related to drug offenses and murder, was carried out in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. Additionally, two prisoners sentenced to death on similar charges were executed in the prisons of Tabriz and Jiroft. The Baloch Activists Campaign reported that on October 14, a prisoner named “Younes Akhtar Samar, from Jiroft” was executed in Jiroft Prison. He had been arrested on murder charges and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

Aroosa Khan's son was chatting on WhatsApp but suddenly found himself the target of "vigilante" investigators who accused him of having committed blasphemy online, a crime that carries the death penalty in Pakistan. The 27-year-old is one in hundreds of young men standing trial in Pakistan courts accused of making blasphemous statements online or in WhatsApp groups, an offence for which arrests have exploded in recent years. Many of the cases are being brought to trial by private "vigilante groups" led by lawyers and supported by volunteers who scour the internet for offenders, rights groups and police say.

On the World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October), Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) calls on Malaysia to take the next step towards the abolition of the death penalty. This step involves abolishing the death sentence for all crimes that do not directly cause death or grievous bodily injury to the victims of the criminals. This year, the World Day theme is “dedicated to challenging the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer”. Madpet asserts: It cannot.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 12, 2024: Mostafa Karami, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Sari Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Sari Central Prison on 12th October. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Mozafar Karami from Rasht. He was arrested for drug-related offences three years ago and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

Russell Henderson is serving consecutive life sentences in Wyoming after being convicted of homicide and hate crime One of the men who murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998 was denied a commutation of his sentence this week, the Wyoming Board of Parole has confirmed. Russell Henderson, who along with Aaron McKinney was convicted of homicide and hate crime charges for murdering Shepard 25 years ago, is currently serving two consecutive life sentences in Wyoming prison. Henderson applied for a reduction in his sentence earlier this year per the Board’s regulations, which allow prisoners who have served at least 10 years of a life sentence to submit a commutation petition once every five years. But the board ruled against sending Henderson’s petition to the governor, Executive Director Margaret White confirmed in statements to The Advocate this week.