Death Penalty News

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 11, 2025: Alireza Bagheri, Mehran Habibi and Esmail Valipour, three men on death row for separate drug-related cases, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 8 July 2025. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Alireza Bagheri (Alireza Bagheri), 34-year-old Mehran Habibi and Esmail Valipour. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases.

Iranian authorities today, in the early hours, publicly executed a man who had been convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan. According to the region’s prosecutor, Nasser Atabati, the execution was carried out at the request of the victim’s family and citizens, due to the intense social and emotional impact of the case.  “The case was given special attention due to the impact it had on public opinion,” Atabati said.

Eight defense attorneys who represented the man who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 were paid $745,000 to defend him against federal hate crimes and weapons charges, according to a document filed in federal court this week.  Patrick Crusius, who will turn 27 later this month, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in El Paso in 2023 to 45 counts of committing hate crimes and 45 counts of using a firearm to kill or commit violence. He pleaded guilty after the U.S. Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty, and he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama to 90 consecutive life terms in prison. 

AFP — Saudi Arabia put two Ethiopians to death July 10, pushing this year's number of foreigners executed past 100 — a spike in capital punishment that human rights groups have strongly condemned. The pair were executed on drug charges, the interior ministry said, bringing AFP's tally of foreigners put to death since the beginning of the year to at least 101. "Khalil Qasim Muhammad Omar and Murad Yaqub Adam Siyo — both of Ethiopian nationality — were found guilty of smuggling hashish," read the statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court on Friday threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks. The decision by a panel of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., undoes an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution beset by legal and logistical troubles. It signals there will be no quick end to the long struggle by the U.S. military and successive administrations to bring to justice the man charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States.

Hengaw - Friday July 11, 2025 — The death sentences of four prisoners, including two Lor men and one Arab man, were carried out in the central prisons of Karaj and Shiraz. The individuals executed were identified as Abdolhossein Jaberi, Saeed Mehrabi, Mohammad-Tayyeb Abdollahi, and Naser Kazemzadeh. They had previously been sentenced to death on charges related to drug offenses and premeditated murder. According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, early hours on Wednesday July 9, 2025, Jaberi and Mehrabi, both Lor men from Khorramabad, were executed in Karaj Central Prison, officially referred to in state media as Karaj Penitentiary.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld death sentences in two separate court cases. In one, out of the Florida Keys, the justices acknowledged improper statements made by a prosecutor, but rejected the inmate’s appeal. The other case, out of Marion County in North-Central Florida, involved the murders of four children. Appeal rejected in child murders The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld four first-degree murder convictions and death sentences of a man who killed his wife and four children in 2019 in Marion County.

Those found guilty of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis, or more than 1kg of cannabis mixture, may face the death penalty SINGAPORE – A Singaporean on the run – who was arrested in Thailand and then handed over to the Republic’s authorities – has been charged with trafficking almost 5 kg of cannabis. Tan Leng Chong, 50, is accused of conspiring with another man to traffic blocks of vegetable matter, later found to contain at least 4,990.6g of cannabis mixture. Those found guilty of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis, or more than 1 kg of cannabis mixture, may face the death penalty.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 10, 2025: July 10, 2025: Majid Rahmani, an Arab man on death row for murder, was executed in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison on 8 July 2025. His identity has been established as Majid Rahmani, a 35-year-old Arab man from Masjed Soleiman. He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 9, 2025: Iran state media have reported the public hanging of an unnamed man for the murder of four women in Barouq city. According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, a man was publicly hanged in Barouq city, West Azerbaijan province, on 9 July 2025. The unnamed man was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of four women. The unnamed man is the third person to be publicly hanged in 2025. Iran is one of the few countries in the world to carry out executions in public spaces.

One of the most com­mon myths about the death penal­ty is that it costs less than sen­tenc­ing some­one to spend the rest of their life in a max­i­mum secu­ri­ty prison, because many assume that the state saves mon­ey when an exe­cut­ed per­son no longer requires con­fine­ment in prison, health care, or related expenses. But this assump­tion has been repeat­ed­ly proven to be wrong. Several fac­tors con­tribute to the high cost of the death penal­ty , includ­ing pros­e­cu­tion and defense costs at tri­al, high secu­ri­ty, the cost of incar­cer­a­tion at a spe­cial death row and costs asso­ci­at­ed with exe­cu­tion. This finan­cial bur­den falls on local taxpayers.

Ryan Cole was convicted of stabbing Khyler Edman while the teen was protecting his 5-year-old sister PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - A Florida man who was convicted of breaking into a Charlotte County home and killing a teenager inside as he protected his little sister has been sentenced to death.  On September 26, 2019, Charlotte County deputies went to the area of Starlite Lane and Olean Boulevard in Port Charlotte to investigate reports of an injured man running through the neighborhood.  At that time, someone called 911 and reported that an unknown man had entered his home. Deputies responded to the home and were able to take the intruder into custody after a short foot pursuit. The man, now identified as 27-year-old Ryan Clayton Cole, had several stab wounds on his hands and side.

WEST JORDAN, Utah — A judge has signed a death warrant for condemned killer Ralph Leroy Menzies, setting his execution for Sept. 5. "Mr. Menzies' appeal of the court order finding him competent is not a basis… to stay execution," 3rd District Court Judge Matthew Bates said. Menzies is facing the death penalty for the 1988 kidnapping and murder of Maurine Hunsaker. She was taken from her job at a convenience store and tied up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Her throat was slit.

Constitutional Court justice and Judicial Yuan president nominee Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) today expressed support for maintaining the death penalty and judicial reform. Tsai, who serves as Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office chief prosecutor, was speaking at a Legislative Yuan review of his nomination by President William Lai (賴清德). Asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) about ending the death penalty, Tsai said that he did not support its abolition. He supports Constitutional Judgement No. 8, he said.

HANOI: A man who murdered four members of his own family in a shocking case has been sentenced to death by a Hanoi court on Tuesday (July 8). The Hanoi People’s Court handed down the death penalty to 52-year-old Vu Van Vuong for the brutal killings of his daughter, son, wife and elderly mother earlier this year. According to court proceedings, Vuong carried out the murders over two days in mid-January at the family’s home in the former Phu Xuyen District of Hanoi.

Saudi authorities have executed Mahdi bin Ahmed bin Jassem Al-Bazroun, a Saudi citizen, in the Eastern Province, on vague and undefined charges.  According to the Interior Ministry, he was convicted of joining a “terrorist organization” and harboring wanted individuals, without disclosing the name of the group or specific actions—part of a recurring pattern of ambiguity in politically motivated executions.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 3, 2025: Hossein Ali Abedi, a man on death row for rape, was executed in Ahar Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged for rape charges in Ahar Prison, Eastern Azerbaijan province, on 1 July 2025. His identity has been established as 25-year-old Hossein Ali Abedi who was sentenced to death on rape charges.

A new report published by Amnesty International today draws attention to a startling surge in executions in Saudi Arabia in recent years, particularly for drug-related offences, and highlights the significant impact of these on foreign nationals. Between January 2014 and June 2025, Saudi Arabia executed 1,816 people, according to the official press agency. Nearly one in three were executed for drug-related offences, which are offences that may not be punished by death under international human rights law and standards. Out of the 597 people executed for drug-related offences during the ten-year period, foreign nationals made up nearly three-quarters (75%) of such executions.

Iran has transferred French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris to undisclosed locations after they survived explosions during Israeli strikes on Tehran’s Evin prison on June 23, their family told Iran International.  “Iranian authorities don't tell [us] where they are being held,” Cécile’s sister Noémie told Iran International on Friday.  The couple were arrested in May 2022 while on a tourist trip to Iran.  Noémie said that since the Israeli strike, they have had only one consular visit, on July 1, when the family was relieved to learn that they were "at least still alive.” 

A Houston-area man convicted of killing his wife died this week after more than 3 decades on death row, marking the 2nd condemned prisoner to die behind bars in the past month.  Prison officials confirmed that William "Billy the Kid" Mason was taken to the hospital on Wednesday and died of cardiac arrest Friday morning.  The 71-year-old was originally sent to death row in 1992, after prosecutors said he'd kidnapped his wife and beaten her to death under a bridge because she was playing the radio too loudly. According to court records, her body was found several days later under some logs near the San Jacinto River.

Wrongful convictions by 2 discredited Mississippi experts tops at least 10. A victim’s family in Louisiana is now speaking out.  Prosecutors fighting the release of death row inmate Jimmie Duncan after a judge found him “factually innocent” of raping and murdering 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux are “not speaking for Haley’s family,” her mother says.  Speaking publicly for the 1st time, Allison Layton Statham called for Duncan to go free in a July 22 bail hearing. “This innocent man is on death row,” she told Mississippi Today. “Justice needs to be done.”  In April, a judge threw out Duncan’s conviction, questioning their conclusions and citing the failures of his court-appointed counsel.

In this month’s pod­cast episode of 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context, DPIC’s Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Sam Levin, a cor­re­spon­dent with The Guardian who cov­ers crim­i­nal jus­tice and the legal sys­tem, and Jimmy Jenkins, a crim­i­nal jus­tice reporter for The Arizona Republic , about the chal­lenges they encounter when report­ing on the increas­ing secre­tive use of the death penal­ty. Mr. Jenkins has wit­nessed exe­cu­tions in Arizona and Mr. Levin has recent­ly inves­ti­gat­ed South Carolina’s return to exe­cu­tions after a 13-year pause.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi. In this edition, I’m looking at why the Iranian parliament's passage of a bill imposing harsher penalties for espionage has raised concerns. What You Need To Know • Widening Use Of The Death Penalty: Over the weekend, Iran’s parliament passed a bill imposing significantly harsher sentences for espionage and collaboration with hostile foreign governments, particularly targeting activities linked to Israel and the United States. Legal experts and human rights organizations warn that the law’s broad definitions and severe punishments could lead to arbitrary accusations and mass executions, including for activities that previously carried lesser sentences or would not have been considered espionage.

Ivey sets execution for Geoffrey Todd West for 1997 murder at Alabama convenience store ATTALLA, Ala. – A man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a 1997 robbery in Attalla is now scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia later this year, nearly three decades after the crime shook Attalla and Etowah County.

Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate have launched a last-ditch effort to prevent his Aug. 5 execution. In Nashville 's Chancery Court, they are asking a judge to require the Tennessee Department of Correction to deactivate an implanted defibrillation device similar to a pacemaker in the moments before Byron Black 's execution. If the judge rules in their favor, such an order could potentially delay the execution until the state finds someone willing to do the deactivation.

In Iranian-Kurdish prisoner jailed in connection with the country’s 2022 nationwide protests has been sentenced to death on several charges including plotting to kill Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his daughter told Iran International. Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, a 47-year-old farmer and father of three from the Kurdish city of Bukan, was arrested in April 2023 in connection with the nationwide Woman Life Freedom protests sparked by the death in custody of 22-year old Mahsa Zhina Amini. He was detained after providing aid and medical supplies to to the wounded protesters in the northwestern Iranian city of Bukan. However, his daughter now reveals a new charge leveled against him.

Deux Français détenus en Iran depuis plus de trois ans ont été formellement inculpés d'espionnage pour le compte du Mossad, l'agence de renseignement israélienne. Cécile Kohler et son compagnon, Jacques Paris, sont également accusés de complot visant à renverser le régime et de l'accusation générale de « corruption sur terre » – un délit passible, comme les autres, de la peine de mort. Kohler, professeure de littérature de 40 ans, et Paris, son compagnon de 72 ans, ont été arrêtés le 7 mai 2022 à la fin d'un voyage touristique en Iran. Leur situation juridique est longtemps restée floue, laissant leurs familles dans l'angoisse et sans réponse.

July 2 (UPI) -- Religious leaders across Florida have penned a letter asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to pause executions after more prisoners were put to death in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated half a century ago. The letter will be sent to DeSantis on July 8, when hundreds of faith leaders are expected to gather at First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee before marching to the State Capitol to deliver the letter. The demonstration will be livestreamed beginning at 11 a.m. local time. The demonstration comes after Florida scheduled its eighth and ninth executions for the year. Last month, Florida executed its seventh prisoner of the year, Thomas Gudinas, who was convicted for the 1994 rape and murder of a woman outside an Orlando bar.

Two former police officers used an official police vehicle to transport drugs, supporting a transnational drug trafficking ring. HANOI: A court in Hanoi has sentenced 11 people to death, including two former police officers, for their roles in a transnational drug ring that used an official police vehicle to transport narcotics. The People's Court of Hanoi delivered the verdicts on Wednesday after a two-day trial. The case involved 12 defendants. Among those sentenced to death were Nguyen Van Hung, a former officer with the Duc Giang Ward Police, and Ha Minh Ducc, a former officer from the Long Bien District Police's narcotics investigation unit. Both were found guilty of the illegal trading of narcotic substances.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 2, 2025: At least 98 people including a woman, eight Afghan nationals, ten Baluch, five Kurdish and an Arab minority, were executed in Iran in June 2025. In the shadow of the Israel-Iran war, at least six men were hanged for espionage charges in June. In the first six months of 2025, nine espionage executions were announced by official sources. At least 612 people were executed between January-June 2025, an increase of 119% compared to the same period in 2024 when 279 executions were recorded.

Two French nationals detained in Iran for more than three years have been formally charged with spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Cécile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, also face accusations of conspiracy to overthrow the regime and the sweeping charge of “corruption on earth” — an offense that, like the others, can carry the death penalty. Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, were arrested on 7 May 2022 at the end of a tourist trip to Iran. For a long time, their legal status remained unclear, leaving their families in distress and without answers.

The visitation center at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman has no windows, just fluorescent lighting, plastic chairs and tables in a cafeteria-style room. I could technically step outside, but only through a single entrance and doing so meant going through the full security screening all over again — it didn’t feel worth it. A few friendly prison staff walked around, quietly watching us. The Wi-Fi cut in and out. All the while, I returned to the thought I was there to watch someone die.

Iran’s parliament on Tuesday passed legislation imposing the death penalty for collaboration with Israel and other “hostile” nations, while also banning the use of satellite internet services such as Starlink. The law classifies intelligence activities, espionage, or operational cooperation with Israel, the United States, or other hostile countries as “corruption on Earth,” a charge punishable by death in Iran. Providing military, financial, or technological support to Israel is also defined as a capital offense. Possession, purchase, or sale of unauthorized communication tools, including Starlink devices, carries a prison sentence of six months to two years.

Bryan Kohberger, the 30-year-old accused of fatally stabbing 4 University of Idaho students in their apartment in 2022, has agreed to a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in his quadruple murder case.   The plea deal consisted of pleading guilty to 4 counts of murder in exchange for the government not pursuing the death penalty, a person familiar with the deal confirmed to CNN. Shannon Gray, attorney for family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, also confirmed the deal to CNN.  A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Kohberger was slated to go on trial in August, and prosecutors indicated they would pursue the death penalty.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office requested an execution date on Friday for death row inmate Roy Lee Ward, the Spencer County man convicted in 2007 for the rape and murder of 15‑year‑old Stacy Payne. A date has not yet been set. A decision on the state’s motion is up to the Indiana Supreme Court.  “We are stunned that they have moved for a date given the very public statements of the governor that the cost is something that should be explored and that this is something the governor wanted the legislature to look at,” defense counsel Larry Komp said in a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

In the wake of Israel’s attacks, Iran has brought in new laws, issued a surge of death penalties on the spot and arrested people for ‘suspicious movement’ to control society, suppress dissent, and escape its own crisis of legitimacy As part of a wider crackdown on dissent in recent days, the Iranian parliament has passed a bill titled ‘Enhancement of penalties for espionage and for individuals cooperating with the Zionist regime and hostile states against national security and interests’. The legislation makes it easier to accuse citizens of spying.