Death Penalty News

Iran's security agents secretly buried the body of Iranian-Swedish citizen Kourosh Keyvani in the Khavaran area outside Tehran after he was executed in March on charge of spying for Israel, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International. The sources said Keyvani was executed on the morning of March 18 without his family being informed, and his body was buried on March 23 in Khavaran. Keyvani’s family later tried to mark the unmarked gravesite by placing stones nearby, but authorities removed them to prevent the burial location from being identified, the sources told Iran International.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has rejected the latest appeal from Briley Piper, the only person on death row in South Dakota. In March 2000, Briley Piper, along with co-defendants Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley, conspired to burglarize the Lawrence County home of 19-year-old Chester Poage before abducting and murdering him by beating, stabbing, and stoning in a remote area.  Piper was subsequently arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, while his accomplices received either a death sentence—carried out against Page in 2007—or a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 4 May 2026: Jamal Hassanzadeh, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Rasht Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 29 April 2026. His identity has been established as Jamal Hassanzadeh, a 37-year-old father of one. Informed sources told IHRNGO that he been arrested four years ago on murder charges following an unintentional altercation and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 4 May 2026: Peyman Mohammadi, Mohammadreza Mohammadi, Abbas Rahimi Azar and Mehdi Badfar, four men on death row for murder, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 3 May 2026. Their identities have been established as 37-year-old Peyman Mohammadi, 41-year-old Mohammadreza Mohammadi, 29-year-old Abbas Rahimi Azar, an Isfahan native, and 33-year-old Mehdi Badfar. They were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Horner, 35, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping The sentencing trial of former FedEx driver Tanner Horner enters its final week Monday in a Tarrant County courtroom in Fort Worth as jurors prepare to decide whether he will receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand. Horner, 35, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping on April 7, 2026, just as jury selection wrapped and testimony was set to begin. 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, who is scheduled to be executed for the 1996 murder of his girlfriend’s 5-month-old daughter, Gabrielle Hanshaw. The warrant schedules Lukehart’s execution by lethal injection to occur between noon, June 2, and noon, June 9. The procedure will take place at Florida State Prison in Starke. Lukehart was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997. According to trial testimony and court records, the infant died in February 1996 after Lukehart, who was changing her diaper, became frustrated when she would not lie flat. Lukehart testified at his trial that he “forcefully and repeatedly” pushed the infant’s head and neck to the floor.

Mississippi Senate Bill 2821 (2026 Regular Session) creates the new crime of capital sexual battery. It authorizes the death penalty (or life without parole if the death penalty is not imposed) for the most severe cases. The bill was approved by the Governor and takes effect on July 1, 2026. PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Under current Mississippi law, the death penalty is only applicable in cases of murder. Effective July 1, there will be another capital offense on the books: capital sexual battery.

The ACLU is asking state and federal courts to order DNA and fingerprint analysis they say could prove innocence Death row exonerees and innocence advocates are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to halt the May 21 execution of Tony Carruthers to allow for DNA testing on evidence his attorneys said could prove his innocence.  “[DNA] doesn’t take sides,” Tennessee Innocence Project Executive Director Jason Gichner said. “It’s not pro-prosecution, it’s not pro-defense. Law enforcement uses DNA all the time to solve cold cases and at the same time we can use DNA to vindicate innocent people by testing evidence to prove that they didn’t commit the crime.” 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 4 May 2026: State media reported that Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, three protesters arrested in connection with the 8 and 9 January protests in Mashhad, were executed at an undisclosed location. Since 18 March, at least 24 political prisoners and four people accused of espionage, have been executed. 13 of the executed political prisoners were protesters, 12 of whom were arrested in connection with the January protests, and one in relation with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

The father of a four-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered in Nasrapur, Pune district, Maharashtra, on May 3 requested political leaders to refrain from visiting his home until his daughter receives justice and the accused is sentenced to death. In a self-recorded video, the father made a “humble request” on behalf of his family, asking that no politicians come to offer condolences at this time. He said the family would only meet politicians once justice is served in the case. “We are currently in Dehu to immerse my daughter’s ashes. During this time, I’ve been informed by relatives and friends that several politicians have been visiting our home to offer condolences etc. I want to make one humble request on behalf of my family and myself until my daughter receives justice and the accused is awarded the death penalty, no politician should come to our home to meet us. We will only be open to meeting anyone, including politicians, once justice is served. Until t...

Iran has executed two more individuals on charges of “spying for Israel”, as a new wave of executions continues in the country. The development comes as Iran’s judiciary chief dismissed international pressure to halt executions, saying authorities would show “no leniency” in carrying out sentences. According to Iranian media, Yaqoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were executed after being convicted of cooperation with Israel.

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s prison system has nearly completed execution chamber upgrades to carry out the death penalty by firing squad as the state’s lead method and will have a team of riflemen ready to go by the time a state law takes effect this summer. As part of the transition, the Idaho Department of Correction hopes to limit participation by its officers as the shooting of condemned people in prison to death is prioritized over lethal injection. Toward that effort, prisoner leadership sought to implement a push-button technology to avoid needing IDOC workers to pull the triggers.

SPARTANBURG — A 59-year-old man sentenced to death for killing a state trooper in Greenville County in 2000 can’t be executed because of a mental illness that’s left him incoherent and believing he’s immortal, a Circuit Court judge has ruled. John Richard Wood is the first condemned inmate in South Carolina found not competent to be executed since the state restarted capital punishment in September 2024. The seven executions since then include three men who chose to die by firing squad — the latest in November. Wood, convicted 24 years ago, was among death row inmates in line to receive a death warrant after exhausting their regular appeals.

A Ugandan-American man was sentenced to death on Thursday over the murder of four young children he stabbed to death at a kindergarten in Uganda's capital. Christopher Okello Onyum was arrested on 2 April as he tried to flee the daycare centre in Kampala, where he killed the tiny children, aged between 15 months to two-and-a-half years. Prosecutors said Onyum, who holds Ugandan and US citizenship, confessed to the crime, believing the "human sacrifice" would help him become rich, although he eventually pleaded not guilty in court.

Tehran executed 21-year-old karate athlete Sassan Azadvar early Thursday after protest arrest, as UN and rights groups warn of a surge in executions and mass detentions since the start of the Iran war. Iran’s judiciary has confirmed the execution of another detainee arrested during the recent protests, as the UN and other international human rights organisations reported a sharp rise in executions and arrests since the start of the Iran war in late February. Sassan Azadvar Joonqani, a 21-year-old karate athlete detained during the early January protests, was executed early Thursday morning at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, according to Iranian media.

Death penalty abolitionist and social justice activist Kokila Annamalai Parvathi was charged on April 23, over her refusal two-and-a-half years ago to comply with a government censorship order. As previously reported by Green Left, Annamalai defied a directive under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), to issue a “correction” to an online post she and the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) made about the 2024 execution of Azwan bin Bohari. The post explained that Azwan had been on death row since 2019 after being arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act four years earlier. It pointed out many inconsistencies and injustices in the way his execution had been handled by the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Broadnax’s final appeal to temporarily stop his execution and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not grant a last minute reprieve. James Broadnax died by lethal injection Thursday evening for the 2008 robbery and murders of two Christian music producers — after his cousin confessed to being the shooter earlier this year. Broadnax was executed minutes before 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30 in Huntsville, Texas. Broadnax’s legal team shared in a statement his words from earlier in the day.

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of beating and choking his brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter to death nearly 50 years ago was executed Thursday evening. James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of the July 1976 killing of Cynthia Driggers. The curtain to the death chamber opened promptly at the 6 p.m. execution time. Hitchcock’s entire body was covered in a sheet up to his head. He stared at the ceiling as the team warden made a call, then gave his final statement.

Maybe he was confused. Or scared. But the confession had to be true. Surely Christopher Barbour just got the name wrong and identified the wrong man who raped a Montgomery woman before Barbour stabbed her to death. That’s the theory of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, which is still insisting on keeping Barbour on death row despite DNA evidence that points to another man. The state’s top prosecutors filed new documents with an appellate court asking to stop a federal judge’s decision to give Barbour a new trial.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reported on Thursday that at least 44 protesters including two women and three teenagers who were reportedly under the age of 18 at the time of arrest, have been sentenced to death in relation to the January 2026 protests. Hundreds more remain at risk of death penalty charges and sentences.  In a meeting with judicial authorities this morning, Iran’s Head of Judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i urged the swift implementation of death sentences and executions. Nine protesters have been executed in relation to the protests thus far, all of them since 19 March.