Death Penalty News

Human rights activists are sounding the alarm over reports of secret and extrajudicial executions in Iran, warning that the authorities may be moving toward retaliating against detainees after the deadly crackdown on protests in January. Domestic accounts—fragmentary and difficult to verify under heavy censorship—suggest that killings may be continuing beyond those reported during the nationwide unrest of January 8 and 9, when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in cities across the country. One case frequently cited by rights activists involves Mohammad-Amin Aghilizadeh, a teenager detained in Fooladshahr in central Iran.

The condemned headed family syndicates that trapped Chinese abroad in massive scam centres BEIJING — In less than a week, China conducted a series of executions on a scale rarely seen in recent decades. In all, 16 core members of mafia-like crime syndicates were put to death for a range of crimes, from murder to fraud and human trafficking. While all the victims in the cases were Chinese nationals, many of the condemned were citizens of Myanmar, a largely Buddhist country not known for executing crime bosses.

The HRANA report comes as the Islamic Republic has been carrying out an increasing number of executions. At least 13 prisoners were executed in various prisons across Iran on Saturday morning after having been convicted by the regime's courts of drug and murder-related charges, US-based human rights group HRANA reported the same day. According to the group, the executions took place in the prisons of Khorramabad, Sanandaj, Dezful, Aligudarz, Kermanshah, Yasuj, Nahavand, Zahedan, Hamedan, and Karaj Central Penitentiary.

TOKYO - Japanese political parties are split on abolishing the death penalty, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance not taking a clear stance on the issue, a survey released by a human rights group ahead of Sunday's general election showed. In the questionnaire conducted by Tokyo-based Human Rights Now, the long-ruling LDP said the issue should be "considered cautiously by fully taking into account public opinion" as it "relates to the foundation of the criminal justice system."

TORONTO, Canada — China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official told AFP Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg's lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached by AFP over the phone in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced Friday by China's highest court. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China–Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

Alabama has scheduled a March execution date for a man sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery even though he didn't pull the trigger.  Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday set a March 12 execution using nitrogen gas for Charles “Sonny” Burton, 75. Burton was convicted as an accomplice in the shooting death of Doug Battle, a customer who was killed during an Aug. 16 robbery that year of an auto parts store in Talladega. 

The Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is hailing positive developments at the midpoint of the legislative session, including the rejection of a push to introduce execution by firing squad as a means of capital punishment.  Following impassioned debate on the House floor, a bill that would have added this controversial method of carrying out the death penalty in Indiana was defeated in a close vote. Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne), a Catholic lawmaker who last year introduced legislation to abolish the death penalty altogether, was among those appealing to his colleagues to vote no on House Bill 1119. 

The Islamic Republic has now entered a new phase of systematic repression, reports Amirhossein Miresmaeili as lawyers warn of an unprecedented scale of repression in the country This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Persian Iran has seen a sharp increase in raids on the homes of protesters by the Islamic Republic’s military in recent weeks, with a dramatic rise in demand for the death penalty, several lawyers have told Independent Persian. Reports indicate that the arrests, often on charges related to participation in Iran’s national uprising, have often proceeded without recourse to any legal or judicial process. Severe charges have been raised at the preliminary indictment stage, some carrying penalties that could include execution and death.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 5 February 2026: Iraj Mostafavi, Bakhtiar Shahabi and Hassan Alayi-Bakhsh were executed for separate murders in Gorgan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Gorgan Central Prison on 4 February 2026. Their identities have been established as 43-year-old Iraj Mostafavi, Bakhtiar Shahabi and 28-year-old Hassan Alayi-Bakhsh. Iraj was arrested for an “honour killing” around three years ago, Bakhtiar was arrested around six years ago and Hassan was arrested for a murder that took place in the course of a street fight three years ago. They were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

The Alabama Legislature passed HB 41, the Child Predator Death Penalty Act, on Thursday. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement after it passed. "I applaud the Alabama Legislature for passing HB41, the Child Predator Death Penalty Act, which sends the strongest possible message that our state will not tolerate crimes against our children, who are among our most vulnerable citizens," Marshall said in the statement.

The U.S. Justice Department has indicated its intent to pursue the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of fatally shooting one West Virginia National Guard member and seriously wounding another near the White House in late November 2025. WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to seek the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, killing one and gravely injuring the other. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to nine federal charges, including first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and illegal possession of a firearm. The arraignment before Judge Amit Mehta came amid indications from prosecutors that they are working toward "death-eligible charges" — potentially through additional or amended counts — as the case advances.

The man accused of killing two Israeli embassy employees in May is now facing even more charges.  The Justice Department announced Wednesday night that Elias Rodriguez is now charged with four counts of acts of terrorism. One criminal defense attorney believes the new charges are an intentional effort by prosecutors to sway a jury toward capital punishment if he is convicted. WASHINGTON - The man accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy employees in May is now facing even more charges. The Justice Department announced Wednesday night that Elias Rodriguez is now charged with four counts of acts of terrorism. 

A Japanese man has appealed against his life sentence for fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a district court spokesperson said on Wednesday. Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, sent shockwaves through Japan after he shot and killed its longest-serving prime minister with a homemade gun in July 2022, while Abe was delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. “An appeal was filed,” said the spokesperson. The Osaka High Court will review the appeal. Yamagami was sentenced to life in prison by the Nara District Court on January 21, 2026, after admitting to the murder, using a homemade gun during Abe's campaign speech in Nara.

The Supreme Court acquitted ten prisoners who had been on death row, the highest number of such acquittals in the past decade. The Supreme Court of India has not confirmed a single death penalty in the last three years, according to an annual statistics report on death penalties in India published by The Square Circle Clinic, a criminal justice initiative at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. In fact, in 2025, the top court acquitted ten prisoners who had been on death row, the highest number of such acquittals in the past decade.  The report, which examined death penalty trends across India over the last ten years, found that the Sessions Courts handed down 1,310 death sentences nationwide between 2016 and 2025. “Despite growing judicial scepticism at higher levels,” the lower courts sentenced 128 individuals to death in 2025 alone, the report said. 

People in North Korea, including schoolchildren, are being publicly executed, sent to labour camps or subjected to brutal public humiliation for watching South Korean television shows or listening to K-pop, according to new testimonies gathered by Amnesty International. North Koreans who fled the country told Amnesty that watching globally popular South Korean dramas – including Crash Landing on You, Descendants of the Sun and Squid Game – or listening to South Korean pop music can lead to the most extreme punishments, including death. Those without money or connections face the harshest consequences.

When Lance Shockley was exe­cut­ed in Missouri in October 2025, he request­ed the pres­ence of his daugh­ter, an ordained min­is­ter, in the exe­cu­tion cham­ber as his spir­i­tu­al advis­er. The Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) denied his request, and Mr. Shockley was exe­cut­ed. His case rep­re­sents one exam­ple of how states have applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 rul­ing in Ramirez v. Collier , a deci­sion that acknowl­edged the reli­gious rights of death-sen­tenced pris­on­ers at the time of their exe­cu­tion. In its 8 – 1 rul­ing, the Supreme Court held that John Ramirez, a death-sen­tenced pris­on­er in Texas, had the right to have a spir­i­tu­al advis­er touch him and pray aloud dur­ing his exe­cu­tion. The Court based this deci­sion on both the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and urged states to adopt clear poli­cies for allow­ing spir­i­tu­al advis­ers into execution chambers.

In January 2026, the Alabama Supreme Court authorized Governor Kay Ivey to set an execution date for Charles Burton, allowing the state to proceed with execution by nitrogen gas. This followed the exhaustion of his appeals, and he is now eligible for execution at any time.  MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Charles "Sonny" Burton didn't kill anyone. The state of Alabama could execute him anyway. Burton, 75, is facing execution for his role as an accomplice in a 1991 robbery at an auto parts store where customer Doug Battle was killed.  No one disputes that another man, Derrick DeBruce, shot and killed Battle. Burton, one of six men involved in the robbery, was outside the store at the time of the shooting, according to testimony. DeBruce and Burton were both sentenced to death. But DeBruce was later resentenced to life imprisonment, leaving Burton -- who neither fired the gun nor ordered anyone to be killed -- as the only person facing execution.

Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has authorised the killing of 11 categories of people under a newly endorsed Taliban penal code, granting himself sole authority to approve executions deemed necessary for what the movement describes as the “public interest”.  Article 16 of the Taliban’s new penal code allows for “discretionary execution” ( ta’zir by death) of individuals accused of a broad range of offences, including armed opposition to the Taliban, promoting beliefs considered contrary to Islam, sorcery and repeat criminal acts, according to the text reviewed by Amu TV. 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida accelerates executions at a pace unseen in modern history, multiple death row prisoners with execution dates this month have filed claims with the Florida Supreme Court raising serious concerns about the State’s repeated failure to follow its own execution protocol. Courts have long held that under the Eighth Amendment, execution protocols must be followed precisely because deviations create a substantial risk of severe pain and unconstitutional punishment.