Death Penalty News

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of killing his wife and two children with a machete in 1994 is set for execution Thursday, which would be the ninth death sentence carried out in 2025 to set a new state record for a single year. A 10th execution is scheduled for Aug. 19 and an 11th on Aug. 28. A death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis directs that 60-year-old Edward Zakrzewski be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Zakrzewski’s final appeal for a stay was rejected Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nashville General Hospital is a third-party healthcare provider for incarcerated people in Tennessee who need specialized care. The story of a Tennessee death row inmate’s heart implant, and attempts to get it disabled before his execution, has gotten even more complicated. A county court ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to disable Byron Black’s heart implant the day of his execution, Aug. 5, for fear the device would dole out painful shocks and try to revive him as he died. Lawyers representing the agency said it couldn’t obey the order because there was only one provider available, Nashville General Hospital, and its medical team wouldn’t comply with the order’s detailed timeline.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 30, 2025: Mohammad Shabestan, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Sari Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Sari Central Prison on 29 July 2025. His identity has been established as 43-year-old Mohammad Shabestan, a father of two from Sari. He was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for a murder committed during a tribal clash by the Criminal Court.

Justice Dep't prosecutors rebuffed Pima County Attorney's Office as they pursued 5-count indictment A Mexican man accused in a fatal carjacking was indicted on five counts by a federal grand jury Wednesday, including two that could result in life in prison or the death penalty. The case is at the center of a clash between the Pima County Attorney's Office and federal prosecutors. The federal charges of attempted carjacking resulting in death and use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death are the most serious federal charges against Julio Cesar Aguirre, 42, who was in the country without authorization when he allegedly shot and killed a 69-year-old-man during an attempted carjacking on June 30.

Roberts was convicted of a 1992 murder and sentenced to death, despite the jury's recommendation for life imprisonment. His lawyers and activists argue he suffers from severe mental illness, citing family history and documented psychosis. Alabama’s next execution is temporarily on pause in order to assess if the inmate in question is mentally competent enough to be put to death. David Lee Roberts, a now 59-year-old who was convicted of the 1992 murder of Annetra Jones, was set to be executed by nitrogen gas on Aug. 21 as of June 2025.

North Korea has significantly increased the severity of punishments for government officials responsible for disaster response failures — including the death penalty — according to a recent report.   A crisis response law enacted in August 2022 dramatically strengthened the accountability and penalties for those overseeing disaster management, the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) said Tuesday in a report titled “Changes in North Korea’s Crisis Response System and the Establishment of the Ministry for Disaster Prevention” (translated).

Curtis Windom would be the 11th inmate executed this year, a record-breaking pace for the state TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Continuing to quickly order executions, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of killing three people in 1992 in Orange County. Curtis Windom, 59, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28 at Florida State Prison, according to the death warrant posted on the Florida Supreme Court website. Windom could be the 11th inmate executed this year in the state — a record-breaking pace. Florida leads the nation in executions, and the state is scheduled Thursday to execute Edward Zakrzewski for the 1994 murders of his wife and two children in Okaloosa County.

In December 2024, Morocco voted for a UN resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions – a historic shift after 17 years of abstention since 2007. Marrakech – Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) President Amina Bouayach has commented on the recent royal pardon that converted death sentences for 23 inmates to fixed terms, part of King Mohammed VI’s broader clemency initiative for Throne Day.

Whoever saves one life saves the world entire Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland — In a place built to erase human dignity, one man gave his life so another could live. The story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, Auschwitz inmate number 16670, stands as a lasting testament to the power of faith and sacrifice in the darkest of times. Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar, was arrested by Nazi authorities in February 1941. His crime: offering shelter to Jews and members of the Polish underground at his monastery in Niepokalanów, west of Warsaw. The priest had long been a thorn in the side of the Nazi regime. Through his religious publications and missionary work, he had spoken out against the rising tide of hatred sweeping across Europe.

Guards at Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj violently raided the political prisoners’ ward and executed two inmates, according to social media reports from a political prisoner. The Instagram page of Ahmadreza Haeri, a political prisoner, reported that prison guards and security forces stormed the political ward on Saturday and "completely ransacked" it. During the raid, two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hosseini, were transferred to solitary confinement and executed on Sunday morning, according to the report.

A man has been sentenced to death for the murder of Private Seán Rooney, a soldier from Newtown Cunningham (Ireland), in Lebanon. Mohammad Ayyad was not in court when the decision was handed down. A number of his co-accused were given lighter sentences. The 24-year-old was serving with UNIFIL forces in Lebanon when he was shot dead while travelling in a convoy in December 2022. The UNIFIL forces refers to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a peacekeeping mission established in 1978 by the UN Security Council.

Executions carried out in Lorestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Isfahan, and Yazd provinces amid continued international concern over Iran regime’s use of capital punishment The Iranian regime has executed eight more prisoners in recent days across multiple prisons, bringing the total number of executions in just the first six days of the Iranian month of Mordad (22–27 July) to at least 25, according to reports from human rights sources. The latest executions took place in Aligudarz, Malayer, Minab, Isfahan, and Yazd, and included a female prisoner.

From January to June, Saudi Arabia has already executed nearly 200 people, with the number expected to break last year’s record of 345. Most of these deaths are owing to Riyadh’s intensified campaign against drug trafficking, particularly targeting the widespread smuggling of captagon Capital punishment is still a reality in many countries. In fact, while many debate the merits of capital punishment in a civilised society, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its executions — with an Amnesty International report stating that the Kingdom has already executed nearly 200 people this year alone.

Lawyers for a man convicted in a notorious 1994 triple murder in Miramar say a new witness has come forward with evidence that could prove their client's innocence. Pablo Ibar, now 54, was convicted in the murders of nightclub owner Casimir Sucharski, Sharon Anderson and Marie Rogers in Miramar. The shocking crime was dubbed the "Casey's Nickelodeon murders" after the Pembroke Park bar owned by Sucharski. But now, after spending over 30 years in jail and going through three trials, attorneys for Ibar say a new witness has come forward with evidence that could set him free.

Saudi Arabia retains the death penalty for drug trafficking A Pakistani national, identified as Bakhtiyar Zaib, was executed in Makkah on Sunday after being convicted of smuggling heroin into the Kingdom, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced. He had been arrested in connection with attempting to traffic heroin within Saudi Arabia. A criminal court initially sentenced him to death; the verdict was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.

El triple asesinato que ocurrio en Miramar en 1994, podra ser abierto de nuevo tras nuevo testigo clave, dice abogado. El caso de Pablo Ibar, marcado por más de tres décadas de juicios y apelaciones, podría dar un giro decisivo. Su abogado actual, Daniel Tibbitt, asegura contar con un nuevo testigo que identifica a los verdaderos responsables del triple homicidio ocurrido en Miramar, Broward, en 1994.

A state judge has stayed an upcoming execution in Alabama to evaluate whether the man is too mentally ill to be put to death. The judge temporarily stayed the Aug. 21 execution of David Lee Roberts until it can be established whether he has a “rational understanding” of what is to happen to him. “Or similarly put, the issue is whether the petitioner’s concept of reality is so impaired that he cannot grasp the execution’s meaning and the purpose or the link between his crime and its punishment,” Marion County Circuit Judge Talmage Lee Carter wrote in the July 10 order.

The men are among a surging number of foreign nationals facing execution for drug charges in Saudi Arabia, which rights groups say is an 'unprecedented execution crisis'  Um Issam awaits news of her son's execution daily. 29 year-old Issam al-Shazly is 1 of 7 Egyptians awaiting imminent execution for drug charges in Saudi Arabia.  Having watched 2 of their cellmates being led away in the middle of the night, al-Shazly, along with 6 other men who share his cell - Rami al-Najjar, Ahmed Zeinhom, Abdelfattah Kamal, Hesham al-Teles, Mohamed Saad and Omar Sherif - is unsure of when his time will come.

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (Scripps News Tampa Bay) — A jury has recommend Shelby Nealy be put to death for the murders of Richard Ivancic, Laura Ivancic and Nicholas Ivancic after he previously pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated cruelty and first-degree murder. Richard and Laura were the parents of Nealy’s wife, Jamie Ivancic. Nicholas was her brother. This comes after closing arguments by both the state and defense in his sentencing trial on Friday. The jury deliberated for about two hours before handing down the sentence. The closing arguments for the prosecution and the defense were given in a Pinellas County courtroom on Friday.

A judge’s order to take a Tennessee death row inmate to the hospital on the morning of his execution so doctors can deactivate his heart-regulating implant would cause “chaos,” state attorneys said in an appeal.  The argument was one of several in a filing Wednesday that seeks to overturn an order to deactivate Byron Black’s implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, including when and where to do it. Black is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m.  His attorneys say his heart device would continuously shock him in an attempt to restore his heart’s normal rhythm during the execution, but the state disputes that and argues that even if shocks were triggered, that Black wouldn’t feel them.

Two people from Brazil and South Africa have been charged in Indonesia for allegedly trying to smuggle 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of drugs into Bali, the anti-narcotics agency said Thursday.  The pair were travelling separately when they were arrested on July 13 at the resort island's international airport and could face the death penalty if found guilty.  The Brazilian man was allegedly carrying 2 plastic bags containing just over 3 kilograms of cocaine in his backpack and luggage, I Made Sinar Subawa, from the local anti-narcotics agency, told a news conference.

Oklahoma City — In the latest development of a decades-long legal saga, a judge has denied bond for former death row inmate Richard Glossip, ensuring he remains in custody while awaiting a third murder trial. District Judge Heather Coyle's ruling on Wednesday came despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that overturned Glossip's previous conviction and death sentence, citing prosecutorial misconduct and false testimony.

Mere months ago, Glossip seemed close to exoneration. Now he’s facing a third murder trial. In an order that reads like it was written two decades ago, an Oklahoma County judge on Wednesday denied bond for Richard Glossip, keeping him in jail while the state prepares to try him a third time for first-degree murder. In the 18-page document, District Judge Heather Coyle underplays the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s February ruling that overturned Glossip’s most recent conviction. The ruling instead largely adopts the state’s theory of the crime that sent Glossip to death row — while ignoring volumes of evidence that have been discovered in the intervening years.

(UPI) -- An octogenarian who spent some four decades on Florida's death row has died, according to court records, making him at least the seventh death row inmate to die while waiting for their sentence to be carried out this year. Robert Peede, 81, died Monday, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. No cause of death was mentioned. The Florida Department of Corrections told UPI in an emailed statement that the cause of death is to be determined by the district medical examiner.

In a major blow to Japan’s human rights record, the country has resumed executions after nearly three years, putting Takahiro Shiraishi to death on Friday 27 June 2025. This marked the end of a two-year, 11-month hiatus – the longest pause since the Ministry of Justice began publicly disclosing the names and crimes of death row inmates in 2007. With this execution, Japan has reaffirmed its place within the shrinking group of nations that continue to execute their captive citizens.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 24, 2025: Jahangir Fouladi, a Baluch man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 24 July 2025. His identity has been established as Jahangir Fouladi, a 34-year-old father of one from Qazvin. He worked as a plumber prior to his arrest three years ago. He was sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Three Britons who faced the death penalty in Bali for allegedly smuggling £300,000 worth of cocaine have been spared. Lisa Stocker, 39, a mum-of-three, and her partner, Jon Collyer, 39, had travelled from the UK via Qatar and were stopped in Indonesia's capital after a routine airport x-ray detected suspicious items, namely 17 packages of cocaine totalling around 994g. The couple first appeared in court on February 3 alongside Phineas Float, 31, who was accused of receiving the packages at an airport hotel. Under Indonesia’s strict drug laws, the trio could have faced the death penalty after being accused of violating Article 131 of Indonesian Narcotic law.

A judge on Wednesday denied bond for former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, keeping him in custody while he awaits a retrial after the US Supreme Court tossed his conviction and death sentence in the 1997 killing of his former boss, according to court records. District Judge Heather Coyle said in the order that the “State has sufficiently shown by clear and convincing evidence that the presumption of the defendant’s guilt of a capital offense is great.” The order comes after a hearing on Glossip’s motion to set bond on June 17. During the hearing, the state presented as witness a communications specialist from the Oklahoma County Detention Center, where Glossip is being held.

Iran’s judiciary chief said around 2,000 people were arrested during and after the 12-day war with Israel, with some detainees accused of collaborating with the Jewish state potentially facing the death penalty. “In our law, anyone who cooperates with a hostile state during wartime must be arrested and prosecuted,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in an interview with state TV. “Some of these individuals face severe punishments, including the death penalty, while others may receive lighter sentences,” he added.

Former death row inmate Richard Glossip, who spent nearly 30 years on death row before the Supreme Court overturned his conviction earlier this year, may be released from prison today. Glossip, 62, will appear in court on Wednesday in Oklahoma City for a bond hearing regarding his potential release. The former motel manager was convicted in 1997 of commissioning the murder of his former boss Barry Van Treese, the owner of a motel in Oklahoma City. Glossip has maintained his innocence. The Supreme Court threw out Glossip’s murder conviction in February because a key witness lied in court and prosecutors withheld information about him.

There is a com­mon­ly held belief that use of the death penal­ty is always sup­port­ed by the friends and fam­i­lies who have lost loved ones to vio­lence. Prosecutors and elect­ed offi­cials often argue that only the death penal­ty will bring them the clo­sure and jus­tice they deserve. Family mem­bers are invit­ed to wit­ness exe­cu­tions in cap­i­tal cas­es on the the­o­ry that doing so will help meet their needs for ret­ri­bu­tion and closure.  While this feel­ing may be true for some , oth­ers feel dif­fer­ent­ly, includ­ing some who oppose the death penal­ty in all circumstances.

With lethal injection drugs proving both costly and difficult to obtain, a growing number of Republican lawmakers and state officials are pushing for an alternative: the firing squad. Lethal injection is currently the only method of execution authorized under Indiana law. After a yearslong pause, the state resumed executions in December, using a single-drug protocol of pentobarbital to put Joseph Corcoran to death. A second execution followed in May, when Benjamin Ritchie was executed with the same drug. Together, they marked Indiana’s first executions since 2009.

Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Man Accused of Killing Five Family Members Over Business Failures Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a 50-year-old man accused of killing five members of his family—including his elderly parents, wife, and two daughters—allegedly due to financial distress stemming from business failures. During a hearing held on the 22nd at Suwon District Court’s Criminal Division 13, presided over by Chief Judge Jang Seok-joon, prosecutors requested capital punishment for the suspect, identified by his surname Lee. He faces charges including multiple counts of murder and violations of the Narcotics Control Act.

A study will be conducted using an evidence-based approach involving all relevant stakeholders. PETALING JAYA: The government will establish a task force under the criminal law reform committee to conduct a comprehensive study of the death penalty. In a written parliamentary reply, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the study would be conducted using an evidence-based approach involving all relevant stakeholders, including the families of death row inmates and victims’ families.

China singer-actor Zhang Yiyang was executed in 2024 for murder of teenage girlfriend, court confirms Chinese singer-actor Zhang Yiyang was sentenced to death by firing squad in December 2024 for the murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend in 2022, a recent investigation report from a Chinese court has confirmed. Zhang is said to be the first Chinese entertainer to be given the death penalty. The report from the Intermediate People's Court of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, which has circulated in Chinese media, stated that Zhang and his then-girlfriend started dating in September 2021. But when she would propose to break up, Zhang would refuse and often threaten her with suicide.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 19, 2025: Davoud Amani, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 19 July 2025. His identity has been established as Davoud Amani from Zanjan. He was arrested three years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee officials must deactivate a death-row inmate 's implanted heart-regulating device to avert the risk that it might try to shock him during his lethal injection, a judge ruled Friday. The order by Nashville Chancellor Russell Perkins comes ahead of the Aug. 5 execution of Byron Black. Black's attorneys have said that the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator could shock him in an attempt to restore his heart's normal rhythm after the single dose of pentobarbital, with the potential for multiple rounds of shocks and extreme pain and suffering.

More than 43 years after Janet White was abducted from a Bay County insurance office and murdered, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for convicted killer Kayle Barrington Bates. Bates, 67, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 19 at Florida State Prison and could be the 10th inmate put to death by lethal injection this year in the state. DeSantis signed the death warrant after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 declined to take up an appeal by Bates related to a juror in his trial. Bates was convicted in the June 14, 1982, murder of White, who was abducted from a State Farm insurance office where she worked. He also was convicted of kidnapping, attempted sexual battery and armed robbery.

The judgement comes as a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad which conducted the probe into the case. Mumbai: Nineteen years after multiple train blasts here killed more than 180 persons, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all the 12 accused, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the case and it was “hard to believe they committed the crime”. The judgement comes as a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which conducted the probe into the case.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 19, 2025: Manouchehr Fallah and Peyman Farahavar, two political prisoners sentenced to death without due process and fair trial rights, are currently awaiting the Supreme Court decision in Rasht Central Prison. IHRNGO draws the international community and public’s attention to the case of the two political prisoners who are at potential risk of execution. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Manouchehr Fallah (right) and Peyman Farahavar (left), two political prisoners held in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison, are awaiting the Supreme Court’s decisions in their cases.

Kyoto Animation Co. held a memorial on Friday to honor the 36 victims of the 2019 arson attack, with families renewing the memories of their loved ones on the anniversary day that came months after the assailant dropped an appeal to overturn his death sentence.  "Works that have been left (by the victims) are still moving the hearts of many people. You have clearly made a mark on the world, and we are proud of that," a representative of the families said in a message read out in a ceremony at the site in Kyoto where the burned down No. 1 Studio once stood.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 18, 2025: Mosayeb Sagvand, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Khorramabad (Parsilion) Central Prison on 13 July 2025. His identity has been established as 36-year-old Mosayeb Sagvand from Khorramabad. He was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan on Friday passed amendments to the Criminal Code, including a provision allowing the death penalty for those who abuse a child under the age of 7 in a way that results in death. The amendments include changes to Article 271 of the Criminal Code, adding a provision that stipulates the penalty for killing a child under the age of 7 may be increased by up to one half. In cases where abuse leads to the death of a child under the age of 7, offenders may face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Last year with hours left to live, Robert Roberson's life was spared following a furious effort by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers − a development rarely seen in the hardliner state A Texas judge has rescheduled the execution of a death row inmate who won a rare stay of execution last year as prison officials were poised to administer his lethal injection. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson on Wednesday set Robert Roberson's execution for Oct. 16, almost exactly a year after the Texas Supreme Court granted him a stay on his last execution day, Oct. 17, 2024.

Serge Atlaoui was granted a reprieve from execution in 2015 after Paris applied pressure and the Indonesian authorities allowed an outstanding appeal to proceed. A Frenchman who spent almost two decades on death row in Indonesia over drug offences before being returned to France left prison on Friday after being granted a conditional release. Serge Atlaoui, a 61-year-old welder from Metz in eastern France, was flown back to France in February after being on death row in Indonesia since 2007. He was greeted by his lawyer, Richard Sedillot, as he walked out of the gate of Meaux prison near Paris, wearing a white T-shirt and grey trousers.

A man who served seven years in prison after being found guilty of the 1986 murder of a junior high school student was acquitted Friday at the conclusion of a retrial. The Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court ordered the retrial after finding testimony given by Shoshi Maekawa's acquaintance in the original trial lacked credibility. The now 60-year-old Maekawa had maintained his innocence since his arrest in 1987. In the retrial that began in March, prosecutors argued Maekawa's guilt but were unable to present any new evidence to add to the circumstantial evidence under which he was originally convicted.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Davidson County judge held what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind hearing Monday morning over how the state will handle the scheduled execution of Byron Black. Attorneys for the death row inmate asked the court to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to deactivate Black’s implanted defibrillator just before his lethal injection, arguing the device could interfere with the process if not properly shut off by a trained medical professional. This case centers around Black’s attorneys asking for his heart medical device to be turned off at his execution on August 5. They said this is to prevent excruciating pain.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 16, 2025: Kianush Khosravi Siahbidi, a Kurdish man on death row for murder, was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Kermanshah (Dizel Abad) Central Prison on 15 July 2025. His identity has been established as Kianush Khosravi Siahbidi, a Kurdish man from the village of Siah Bide Olya in Kermanshah. He was arrested six years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 16, 2025: Massoud Jamei, Alireza Mardasi and Farshad Etemadifar, three political prisoners in Ahvaz Sheiban Prison, have each received two death sentences for charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) and membership of opposition groups. Massoud Jamei is being “denied treatment for colon cancer outside the prison.” According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Branch 1 of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Adibimehr, has sentenced three political prisoners held in Ahvaz Sheiban Prison to death.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is fac­ing accu­sa­tions that he broke a writ­ten agree­ment that would have freed for­mer death row pris­on­er Richard Glossip from prison more than two years ago, accord­ing to court doc­u­ments filed in mid-July 2025.  The rev­e­la­tion cen­ters on email exchanges from April 2023, where AG Drummond, in a thread with Don Knight, coun­sel for Mr. Glossip, agreed to a plea deal that would have result­ed in Mr. Glossip’s imme­di­ate release after more than two decades on death row. AG Drummond has reversed course and is now seek­ing anoth­er first-degree mur­der con­vic­tion against Mr. Glossip.