Death Penalty News

Jakarta (AFP) – France has asked Indonesia to transfer a French death row convict, who has been jailed for drug crimes in the Asian nation since 2005, a senior Indonesian minister told AFP on Friday. Indonesia is in discussion with three countries, including France, over the return of several high-profile detainees and aims to transfer the prisoners by the end of December. "The French embassy has delivered a letter from France's justice minister to Indonesia's law minister dated November 4 containing a request for the transfer of a French prisoner named Serge Atlaoui," senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told AFP in a message.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 29, 2024: Fariba Maleki Shahivand, a woman on death row for murder, was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was executed in Khorramabad (Parsilion) Central Prison on 24 November. Her identity has been established as Fariba Maleki Shahivand, a mother to a five-year-old girl. An informed source told IHRNGO: “Fariba was accused of unintentionally killing her sister-in-law and mother-in-law during an altercation four years ago, when her daughter was just one year old.”

SINGAPORE, Singapore — Singapore hanged a 35-year-old Singaporean-Iranian man for drug trafficking on Friday, its fourth in less than a month, despite appeals from Tehran to "reconsider" his execution. The United Nations and rights groups say capital punishment has no proven deterrent effect and have called for it to be abolished, but Singaporean officials insist it has helped make the country one of Asia's safest. Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, a Singaporean citizen born in the city-state to a Singaporean mother and an Iranian father, was convicted in 2013 for drug trafficking.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 28, 2024: Ashkan Moradi, Jalal Haj Babay, Davoud Heidari and Ehsan Basati Valiabad were executed for drug-related offences in Karaj Penitentiary. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Karaj Penitentiary (Central Prison) on 26 November. His identity has been established as 32-year-old Ehsan Basati Valiabad who was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related offences.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 28, 2024: Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and recipient of numerous international awards, including the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, and the European Human Rights Award, has appealed to the President of Singapore to grant clemency to Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow, 29 November 2024.

The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that a second attempt to execute an Idaho death row inmate would not violate his Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The Wednesday decision affirms an earlier district court decision, rejecting an appeal by Thomas Creech. Creech, 74, survived his first execution attempt in February after the execution team failed to establish vein access and called off the execution. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 25, 2024: Nader Ghanizadeh and Naser Salmani were executed for murder and drug-related charges in Jiroft Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Jiroft Prison on 23 November. Their identities have been established as Nader Ghanizadeh and Naser Salmani who was 62 years old. Nader was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder and Naser was on death row for drug-related offences.

Vietnamese prosecutors have told property tycoon Truong My Lan she must repay an estimated US$11 billion if she wants to avoid execution by lethal injection. Lan, 68, is appealing her death sentence after being convicted in April of embezzling US$12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank. She was also found guilty of bribing government officials and violating bank lending rules. Prosecutors have so far argued against leniency at her hearing in Ho Chi Minh City unless she finds a way to return a significant chunk of the 415.7 trillion dong (US$16.4 billion) she was found guilty of embezzling in two separate trials, according to her lawyer.

PHOENIX — Arizona will resume executions — perhaps as soon as early 2025, officials say. The decision by Attorney General Kris Mayes comes after Gov. Katie Hobbs dismissed, on Tuesday, the retired federal magistrate she had hired in early 2023 to review the process the state uses to put condemned people to death. Mayes said she was waiting on that report before seeking any death warrants from the Arizona Supreme Court. David Duncan has not finished his work, for which he was authorized to charge $175 an hour, up to $100,000.

Tokyo, Nov. 27 (Jiji Press)--More than two years have passed since Japan previously conducted an execution, as calls for the abolition of capital punishment in the country grow again, following the acquittal of former death row inmate Iwao Hakamada in a retrial. At the end of October, there were a total of 107 inmates on death row in the country. Under the country’s Penal Code, death sentences are carried out by hanging upon the order of the justice minister. 

Fariba Maleki Shiravand, 36 years old, was hanged in the Central Prison of Khorramabad, the capital of the western province of Lorestan. Fariba Maleki Shiravand was arrested and jailed four years ago on charges of deliberate murder. The Iranian Judiciary sentenced her to death. Fariba Maleki is the 17th woman executed since the regime’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian took office on July 28. Her execution on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women brings the number of women executed this year to 28 .

A targeted correction direction has also been issued to TikTok, which will be required to carry a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore who accessed the post. SINGAPORE: The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) – an activist group that campaigns against the death penalty - was issued a fourth Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) order on Tuesday (Nov 26). The correction direction relates to posts made by TJC on its Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X pages on Nov 20. Activists Kokila Annamalai and Rocky Howe were added as collaborators on the Instagram post.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Monday delayed until January his decision on whether to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion 35 years ago, squashing their family’s hope the brothers would be released and home for the holidays. Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said at the hearing in Los Angeles that he needed time to review 17 boxes of documents and give a new district attorney in Los Angeles County time to weigh in on the case.

The Republic of Indonesia has quickly endorsed and accepted a Presidential principle agreement to return the five remaining members of the notorious “Bali Nine” to Australia, effectively truncating the five’s life sentence now being served in an Indonesian prison. On Saturday, 23 November 2024, Indonesian Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, confirmed the commutation of the five Australians life sentences, stipulating that the Australian convicts would be transferred to Australian prisons to serve indeterminate sentences. The exact period to be served by the five remains under review but is anticipated to be less than the life sentence without parole they are serving in Indonesia.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 21, 2024: Alireza Yarmohammadi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Hamedan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 17 November. His identity has been established as 22-year-old Alireza Yarmohammadi from Malayer who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

The remaining Bali Nine members would continue to serve their sentences in Australia, a Labor minister says, as the Opposition calls on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to "stand up and explain" the deal. Talks are underway to return members of the so-called Bali Nine drug smuggling ring to Australia, the federal trade minister has confirmed. But he asserted that they would continue to serve their sentences and not be released.

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office is putting a spotlight on the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, which houses federal death row. In Bloomington, a small community of death row spiritual advisors is struggling to support the prisoners to whom they minister.  Ross Martinie Eiler is a Mennonite, Episcopal lay minister and member of the Catholic Worker movement, which assists the homeless. And for the past three years, he’s served as a spiritual advisor for a man on federal death row.

St. Louis, Mo., Nov 22, 2024 / 15:05 pm - Missouri’s bishops are urging the state to forgo executing a man next month who was convicted of the 2007 abduction, rape, torture, and murder of a 9-year-old girl. Police said Christopher Collings confessed to killing Rowan Ford after raping her on Nov. 3, 2007. The murder took place in rural Stella, Missouri, in the far southwest corner of the state. 

A former Kentucky sheriff is facing the death penalty after he was charged over the slaying of a judge gunned down in his courthouse chambers two months ago.  Shawn 'Mickey' Stines was indicted on one count of murder of a public official by a Letcher County grand jury in a murder that shocked the tiny Appalachian community. Stines had been the sheriff of the southeastern Kentucky county when authorities say he walked into District Judge Kevin Mullins' chambers in Whitesburg, spoke with the judge and then opened fire eight times, killing him on September 19.

Muslims in Bangladesh are known to evade prosecution under blasphemy laws, just like Pakistan, while the draconian legislation unilaterally targets Hindus and other religious minorities. In a major development, the High Court of Bangladesh recommended strengthening the Cyber Security Act to make ‘blasphemy’ punishable by life imprisonment and death penalty in the country. “There should be a provision of punishment like death penalty or life imprisonment for such unnecessary, unconscionable, obstinate and provocative speech and conduct against the Quran and Muhammad, which the parliament may consider,” a 2-Judge Bench of Justices MR Hassan and Fahmida Quader stated.

The news comes after a request from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The five remaining Bali nine* prisoners currently serving life sentences in Indonesia for drug trafficking are set to return to Australia at the request of Anthony Albanese. The Prime Minister made the plea during talks with new president Prabowo Subianto at the APEC conference in Peru, The Australian reported on Friday.

Rosman Abdullah’s execution was the eighth this year in the city state, seven for drug trafficking and one for murder Singapore on Friday hanged a 55-year-old man for drug trafficking, its narcotics enforcement agency said, the city state’s third execution in a week as the United Nations called for a halt. The UN and rights groups say capital punishment has no proven deterrent effect and have called for it to be abolished, but Singaporean officials insist it has helped make the country one of Asia’s safest.

ATMORE, Ala. — An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures with his hands shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation's third execution using nitrogen gas. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux, 37, as she hitchhiked through the state on the way to her mother's home in Louisiana. The woman was attacked, beaten and thrown off a cliff.

Judge Steven Hippler ruled Wednesday that Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students, can face the death penalty. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. Prosecutors announced that they intend to seek the death penalty in 2023, and Kohberger's defense team has been fighting to get it removed ever since.

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.