Death Penalty News

Lucio's execution was delayed in 2022 amid calls to review her case. Melissa Lucio, the death row inmate who was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, is speaking out in an exclusive statement and audio recording to ABC News for the first time since a judge found last month that the Texas mother who has been behind bars for nearly 17 years is “actually innocent.”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 19, 2024: Shahrouz Alimorad, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Ardabil Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Ardabil (Darya) Central Prison on 17 November. His identity has been established as 46-year-old Shahrouz Alimorad, a father of two. He was arrested three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

In a November 15, 2024, ruling, the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to reschedule the execution of Robert Roberson, despite compelling evidence of his innocence and widespread support for a new trial.  Mr. Roberson was scheduled to be executed October 17, but on October 16 the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena for Mr. Roberson to testify on a day after his execution was to occur. A district court temporarily halted the execution so that Mr. Roberson could testify, and the state appealed.

Some death certificates even lacked causes of death, and others raised suspicions that executions may not align with official accounts. The Iraqi government has dramatically escalated the pace of executions in 2024, raising serious concerns among human rights groups, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). A report released on Tuesday, 19 November, by HRW details allegations of torture-tainted confessions, denial of fair trials, and executions carried out without notifying lawyers or families. The executions are described as part of a broader pattern of systemic abuse and lack of transparency in Iraq's judicial and prison systems.

Ahead of the scheduled execution of a man for drug-related offences, in violation of international law and standards, in Singapore on Friday 22 November, Amnesty International’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said:  “The upcoming execution of Rosman bin Abdullah underlines the chilling determination of the Singapore authorities to continue to implement the death penalty. Singapore is among a handful of countries still executing people for drug-related offences, in violation of international human rights law and standards. This must stop immediately. 

A woman in Thailand has been sentenced to death in the first of a string of cases in which she is accused of murdering 14 friends with cyanide. The court in Bangkok found Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, guilty of putting poison in a wealthy friend's food and drink while they were on a trip last year.

Ron McAndrew is a former Florida State Penitentiary warden A pro-Trump former Florida prison warden who oversaw executions is urging President Biden to commute all federal and military death sentences before leaving office. "I voted for President Trump in all of his campaigns, and I agree with him on most of his positions, but not the death penalty," Ron McAndrew, former warden of the Florida State Penitentiary, wrote in a letter to the outgoing president. "I have written to President Trump personally to ask him to stop calling for more executions."

Iranian authorities have issued a flurry of new death sentences in recent weeks, sentencing political prisoners, ethnic minorities, and foreign nationals to capital punishment, Human Rights Watch said today.  Among the latest cases is a Kurdish political prisoner, Warisha Moradi, a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan. Iran’s revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced Moradi to death on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state” on November 10, 2024.

BACK IN 2010, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia. She was convicted of drug trafficking after being caught carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in Yogyakarta. She was then given the death penalty despite pleading innocence – saying that she was only a victim of human trafficking.  Initially, she started working as an OFW to give her children a better life. As per her lawyer Agus Salim, she had gone to Dubai to work as a domestic helper, but returned to Manila before the end of her contract because she was allegedly almost raped.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 18, 2024: At the same time as the drastic execution hike in Iran, a new wave of death sentences have been issued against at least eight protesters and political prisoners in the past week. Furthermore, the death sentences of four Baluch political prisoners have been sent for implementation.

Alabama is set to execute Carey Dale Grayson by nitrogen gas hypoxia Thursday evening for a brutal Jefferson County murder. It would be the state's sixth execution for the year and third in two months. It would also be only the third nitrogen gas hypoxia execution in the nation, after Alabama conducted the first execution by the then-untried method in January.

I once witnessed a public execution in China. It was in the early summer of 1993. As a student studying abroad, I was traveling in the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwestern China and happened to see the public spectacle of killing criminals in the town of Lhasa. Even now, recalling it makes me feel a twinge of pain deep in my chest. It’s an unforgettable memory.

Saudi Arabia has executed more than 100 foreigners this year, according to an AFP tally indicating a sharp increase which one rights group said was unprecedented. The latest execution, on Saturday in the southwestern region of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. That brought to 101 the number of foreigners executed so far in 2024, according to the tally which is compiled from state media reports.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2024: Amanj Azizi, a Kurdish man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Urmia Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Urmia (Darya) Central Prison on 15 November. His identity has been established as Amanj Azizi, a married Kurdish man from the village of Aghlan who lived in Sardasht.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2024: At least nine people including a woman, an Afghan national and two Kurdish minorities were executed for murder and drug-related charges in Ghezel Hesar Prison on Wednesday.  Ahmad Alizadeh was previously reported to have been executed that day, bringing the total number of people executed that day to ten. At least five others have been transferred for execution.

Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.

A private-sector panel made up of academics, legislators and other experts has called for a fundamental review of the problem-plagued death penalty system. In its recommendations to the government, the group pointed out that capital punishment “harbors fundamental problems” and said it “must not be allowed to continue as is.” It unanimously recommended the establishment of an “official council” under the Diet and Cabinet to carry out the proposed review. The panel also called for executions to be put on hold until the council reaches a conclusion.

Texas death-sentenced prisoner Melissa Lucio is “actually innocent; she did not kill her [two-year-old] daughter,” explained Judge Arturo Nelson in his October 16th decision, which was made public on November 14, 2024.  Judge Nelson’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law now go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA), which will make the final decision about whether to overturn Ms. Lucio’s conviction and 2008 death sentence. 

Less than half of millennials, Gen Z are in favor of it for convicted murderers WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Younger generations of U.S. adults are far less likely than older generations to favor the death penalty for convicted murderers. As a result, overall support for the death penalty in the U.S. has fallen to 53% today, a level not seen since the early 1970s.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 14, 2024: Mehdi Sharif and Hossein Faramarzi, two men on death row for drug-related offences in separate cases, were executed in Kashan Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Kashan Prison on 13 November. Their identities have been established as Mehdi Sharif and 40-year-old Hossein Faramari from Kashan. Mehdi was arrested two years ago and Hoseein was arrested for carrying 85 kilograms of shisheh (methamphetamines) and opium sap three years ago.

The Japanese government on Thursday ruled out abolishing the death penalty, rejecting calls by domestic legal experts for a review amid international pressure to end executions. "The government thinks it is not appropriate to abolish" the death penalty, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference.  "The death penalty is unavoidable for a person who has committed an extremely grave and atrocious crime."

Three child rapists were executed on Wednesday after their death sentences were approved by China's top court, showing the country's "zero tolerance" against those harming juveniles. The behaviors of the three criminals, who had sexually assaulted and raped girls for a long time or several times, greatly damaged the physical and mental health of the minors and seriously challenged the legal and moral bottom line, bringing extremely negative effects to society, the Supreme People's Court said.

Taliban authorities in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday executed a convicted murderer by gunfire at a sports stadium, in the sixth public execution since their return to power. The condemned man was shot with three bullets to the chest by a member of the victim's family in front of thousands of spectators in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. The evening before the execution the governor's office called on officials and residents to "attend this event" on social media.

Paris (AFP) – Iran hanged a 26-year-old man for a second time Wednesday months after a previous execution was halted half a minute in, an NGO said. Ahmad Alizadeh was arrested in October 2018 on a murder charge, which he denied, and was sentenced to death, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), which tracks executions in Iran, said in a statement. His death sentence was carried out on April 27 in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran. But just 28 seconds into the hanging he was brought down from the gallows when the victim's family suddenly shouted "forgiveness". His "lifeless" body was successfully resuscitated and the execution was halted, IHR said.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 11, 2024: Mohammadnabi Papolzehi, an Afghan man on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in Zahedan Central Prison. According to Haal Vsh, at least one man was executed in Zahedan Central Prison on 10 November. His identity has been reported as Mohammadnabi Papolzehi, a 28-year-old Afghan national. He was arrested in Zahedan two years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Zahedan Revolutionary Court.

Verisheh Moradi, a Kurdish political prisoner and a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR), has been sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi). The verdict, handed down by Judge Abolghassem Salavati, followed two court hearings on 16 June and 5 October, and the death sentence was formally notified to Moradi’s lawyers on 10 November. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department will appeal a military judge's ruling that plea agreements struck by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and two of his co-defendants are valid, a defense official said Saturday. The ruling this past week voided Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order to throw out the deals and concluded that the plea agreements were valid. The judge granted the three motions to enter guilty pleas and said he would schedule them for a future date to be determined by the military commission.

Hoosier prison staffers, the condemned’s friends and family members, and the victims’ family members may soon witness the state of Indiana’s first execution since 2009. But it’s likely that no independent witnesses will be included. Joseph Corcoran, who killed four people in 1997, is scheduled to be executed Dec. 18. In Indiana, the death penalty is only available for the crime of murder. It will also be the state’s first time killing a prisoner with pentobarbital instead of a traditional three-drug cocktail.

On November 10, 2024, Iranian authorities carried out the execution of at least 11 prisoners across various prisons, with one of the victims being a woman.  These executions, reportedly related to both drug offenses and homicide, were carried out in several cities, including Yasuj, Tabriz, Zahedan, and Rasht.

Armin and Hatef, the primary and secondary suspects in the robbery of safety deposit boxes at the University Branch of Bank Melli, were sentenced to hand amputation by the Tehran Province Criminal Court.  The Supreme Court of Iran has also charged them with “corruption on earth,” which could lead to severe punishments such as the death penalty.  

Burkina Faso's military regime wants to reinstate the death penalty, which was abolished in the country in 2018, a government source told AFP news agency on Saturday.  The latest execution in Burkina Faso was in 1988, according to rights group Amnesty International. It concerned four leaders accused of an attempted coup d’état to depose president Blaise Compaoré – defence minister Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani, minister of economic promotion Henri Zongo, and two unidentified men.

After surviving a botched execution attempt in February, Thomas Creech (pictured) was scheduled for  execution a second time on November 13 in Idaho. On Wednesday, November 6, a federal district court issued a stay of execution to allow more time to consider Mr. Creech’s legal claims. The Idaho Department of Corrections announced that “execution preparations have been suspended” and the execution warrant will expire.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 7, 2024: Soleiman Abbaspour, a possible child offender on death row for murder was executed in Zanjan Central Prison on Saturday. Yesterday, a man named Ezat Seyedi who according to his relatives, suffered from “intellectual disabilities,” was executed for unintentionally killing his friend while they were joking around with a rifle.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 7, 2024: At least six men including an Afghan national were executed in Mashhad Central Prison. At least 23 people were executed in Iran in the past two days. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least six men were executed in Mashhad Central Prison on 5th November.  Four of the men have been identified as 24-year-old Mahmoud Shahraki and Mohammadreza Davar, two Zabol natives, Afghan national Zaher Safari and Majid Ghadiri.

Catholic Mobilizing Network urges president in final days to decide in line with Catholic teaching against death penalty Catholic Mobilizing Network, a group that advocates for the abolition of capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching, issued a statement Nov. 6 urging President Joe Biden to take action on the practice during the remainder of his presidency while 40 lives on death row "hang in the balance."

Iran executed seven individuals on Wednesday, including three Afghan nationals, at Ghezel Hesar prison in the city of Karaj, according to the HENGAW Organization for Human Rights.  The executions also included two Kurdish prisoners, the rights group reported. HENGAW identified one of the Afghan nationals as Ajmal Azizi, who had been sentenced to death for “premeditated murder.” 

A Texas appeals court has ordered a new trial for Randy Halprin because of antisemitic bias by the judge in his case A Texas appeals court ordered a new trial Wednesday for a Jewish man on death row — who was part of a gang of prisoners that fatally shot a police officer in 2000 after escaping — because of antisemitic bias by the judge who presided over his case. Lawyers for Randy Halprin have contended that former Judge Vickers Cunningham in Dallas used racial slurs and antisemitic language to refer to him and some of his co-defendants.

You don't have to tell Daniel Troya and the 40 other denizens of federal death row locked in shed-sized solitary cells for 23 hours a day, every day, that elections have consequences. To them, from inside the U.S. government's only death row located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Tuesday's election is quite literally a matter of life and death: If Kamala Harris wins, they live; if Donald Trump wins, they die. "He's gonna kill everyone here that he can," Troya, 41, said in an email from behind bars. "That's as easy to predict as the sun rising."

The Idaho Supreme Court held Tuesday night that a second execution attempt of Thomas Creech does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment or imposing multiple punishments for the same offense. Earlier Tuesday, a federal judge in the district of Arizona said he will block the scheduled execution of Creech, according to the Idaho Statesman.  U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow said in court that a second execution attempt would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

A former high-level Chinese government employee has been sentenced to death for leaking state secrets to a foreign power, Beijing's spy agency said Wednesday. The individual surnamed Zhang "provided a large number of top secret and classified state secrets to foreign intelligence agencies," the Ministry of State Security said in a post to its official WeChat account. In his job, Zhang had access to "a large number of state secrets", the ministry said.

Iran has sentenced three people to death over the 2020 assassination of one of the country’s top nuclear scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the judiciary said on Tuesday. “The judicial processes of these three people were carried out in the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, and they were sentenced to death in the initial stage, and the case is currently in the appeal stage,” judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a Tehran press conference.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Home Ministry (MHA) has instructed Meta Platforms Inc be issued Targeted Correction Directions (TCDs) following the reposting of false statements on its platforms regarding the scheduling of executions and the prosecution of drug trafficking charges in the country. The ministry said it has instructed Office of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to issue the TCDs, which require Meta to alert users who have seen the repeat posts that they contain false statements.

A female student at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University stripped to her underwear on campus after university security personnel harassed her and tore her clothing for not wearing a headscarf. University officials later claimed she was transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Social media users now call her the "Science and Research Girl," after Tehran's Science and Research Campus, where the incident occurred. Known for its scenic mountainous location, this unit of the Islamic Azad University has become the focal point of a protest that sparked widespread attention online.

Arvin Netanel Ghahremani's relatives claim he did not receive adequate defense. Authorities in Iran on Monday executed a Jewish man, Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, who had been sentenced to death for murder, Iranian media reported. “The sentence of retribution was executed this morning,” said Hamidreza Karimi, the prosecutor for Kermanshah in western Iran, according to the Mehr news agency.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 2, 2024: Amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, and under the cover of war propaganda, the Islamic Republic carried out at least 166 executions in October alone. This marks the highest number of executions recorded in a single month since Iran Human Rights began documenting executions in 2007. Among those executed were 13 Afghan nationals, six women, and an Iranian-German citizen.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 1, 2024: Hamed Doyesti, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Isfahan Central Prison. Per informed IHRNGO sources, there are currently more than 70 murder death row prisoners awaiting execution at the prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 31 October. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Hamed Doyesti who was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — It was the hottest September in more than a century in parts of South Florida, and Dwayne Wilson could hear his 81-year-old fellow inmate gasping for breath and crying out for help at the Dade Correctional Institution, 45 miles southwest of Miami on the edge of the Florida Everglades. The elderly man was confined to a wheelchair and for weeks had been complaining of severe chest pain and difficulty breathing in the unventilated dorm where he was serving his sentence, according to a federal class action lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Wilson and two other inmates at the prison.

South Carolina executes Richard Moore despite broadly supported plea to cut sentence to life   South Carolina put Richard Moore to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included 3 jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors and members of his family.

Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith has represented a number of clients who have been sentenced to death row across the USA and he's recounted some of their final moments A human rights attorney has reminisced about the bitterly ironic moment his executed client was initially denied a last cigarette over health concerns. Clive Stafford Smith shared the poignant tale with LadBible, recounting how Nicholas Lee Ingram skipped his final meal in favor of a smoke.

In Germany, all three consulates general of Iran will be closed in response to the execution of the German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmakhd This was reported by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Tagesschau reports. Iranian consulates will be closed in Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg. The Iranian embassy in Berlin will continue to work. Those of the 32 consulate employees who do not have German citizenship will have to leave Germany.