Death Penalty News

HRANA – Yesterday, December 29, the death sentences of at least ten prisoners convicted on murder or drug-related charges were carried out in various prisons across Iran. HRANA reported the executions of the following individuals on this day:

Former death row inmate Richard Glossip appeared in court as his attorney expressed optimism about his potential release. Glossip appeared in court Monday before Judge Natalie Mai, who is now overseeing his case. His attorney expressed optimism about the possibility of his release based on a 2023 agreement with the attorney general. Two court dates have been set for Glossip, one to potentially set bond and another to discuss an agreement between the attorney general and Glossip's attorney, which could lead to his release.

After six judges recused themselves, a civil judge has been assigned to oversee the retrial of former death row inmate Richard Glossip in Oklahoma. OKLAHOMA CITY —Richard Glossip's retrial for first-degree murder is set to proceed after a civil judge was assigned to his case following the recusal of six Oklahoma County judges. Glossip, who has spent nearly three decades behind bars for a murder-for-hire plot in the 1997 death of Barry Van Treese, walked into the courtroom Monday after months of uncertainty over which judge would take his case. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is retrying Glossip for first-degree murder, without the death penalty on the table, but the case had been at a standstill.

Former death row inmate Richard Glossip is asking again to be released on bond from jail in part because of health issues that his attorneys called "potentially life threatening." His new trial judge has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 12 on his request. For years, Glossip was the state's highest-profile death row inmate because of the celebrity support for his innocence claim, his close calls in avoiding execution and a 2017 documentary about his case. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his 2004 murder conviction on prosecutorial misconduct grounds. He now faces a third trial.

UN experts have called for an immediate halt to the planned execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, the 67-year-old electrical engineer detained in Lakan Prison in Rasht in northern Iran. The severe procedural violations in this case —including the unlawful deprivation of her liberty, the denial of effective legal representation, the extraordinarily brief trial, the lack of adequate time to prepare a defence, and the use of evidence that appears insufficient to support a charge of baghi [rebellion against Islamic rulers] — render any resulting conviction unsafe.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 27, 2025: Mohammad Mehdi Adavi and Ebrahim Alizadeh, two co-defendants on death row for murder, were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj). According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged Ghezel Hesar Prison on 24 December 2025. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Mohammad Mehdi Adavi and 23-year-old Ebrahim Alizadeh, both Qarchak natives. They were arrested in the same case around four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

A trio of British drug mules who tried to smuggle £300,000 (US$405,000, €345,000) worth of cocaine into Bali are reportedly set to be deported back to the UK after missing out on the death penalty. Lisa Stocker, 39, a mother-of-three, was arrested with her partner Jonathan Collyer, 39, back in February. She was stopped after a routine X-ray of their luggage detected 17 packets of the dessert Angel Delight that had been stuffed with nearly a kilogram of cocaine. 

SINGAPORE, Dec 29 — A 39-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested at Singapore’s northern border after authorities found more than 3kg of cannabis and 1.7kg of Ice during checks at Woodlands Checkpoint, in a case that crosses the city-state’s capital punishment thresholds for drug importation. According to a joint statement issued today by Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the man was flagged for enhanced screening on the evening of December 22 after information from ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre.

A report by rights group HRANA reveals that at least 1,922 people were executed in Iran in 2025, a sharp rise from the previous year. An annual report by Washington-based rights group HRANA reveals that in 2025 at least 1,922 people were executed in Iran - more than double the number recorded the previous year. The report was published against the backdrop of Operation Rising Lion and the regime's announcements about the arrest of alleged spies who reportedly acted for Israel.

Gov. Josh Shapiro issued his 1st death penalty reprieve earlier this month, as advocates for abolishing capital punishment say the political winds continue to shift slowly in their favor.  The reprieve — issued Dec. 5 with little fanfare — fulfills Shapiro’s promise to maintain the moratorium on executions that began under his predecessor, Tom Wolf. Both governors said they would not carry out any death sentences, asking the legislature to pass sentencing reform that includes eliminating the death penalty. 

A man sentenced to death for the 1980 rape and murder of a Seal Beach woman died in prison on Monday, Dec. 22 at the age of 80, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Wednesday.  Benjamin W. Watta, formerly of Long Beach, was found unresponsive in his cell at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City around 11 a.m. on Monday during a count and pronounced dead by paramedics just after 11:30 a.m., the corrections agency said. The Del Norte County Coroner will determine his cause of death. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2025: Mahin Rashidi, Abbas Alami, Naser Faraji, Tohid Barzegar and Jamshid Amirfazli, five co-defendants on death row for drug-related offences, were secretly executed in a group hanging in Shiraz Central Prison.  According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men and a woman were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 17 December 2025. Their identities have been established as Mahin Rashidi, a 39-year-old woman, Abbas Alami, 43, Naser Faraji, 38, Tohid Barzegar, 51, and Jamshid Amirfazli, 45, all Kashan natives.

On Dec. 23, 2024, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. commuted the sentences of nearly all federal death row prisoners, sparing 37 men from execution. Just 28 days later, on Jan. 20, 2025, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order encouraging state and local prosecutors to pursue new charges against those same prisoners, reopening the possibility of capital punishment in state courts.

A shocking, devastating loss that none of us saw coming. Rest in Power, M Ravi. How do I process something that doesn’t feel real? As I'm writing this, the amount of information I have is distressingly small. M Ravi is dead. He was pronounced dead at Tan Tock Seng Hospital this morning. The police say they don’t suspect foul play, but investigations are ongoing. None of us saw this coming.

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

The Afghan national accused of killing one National Guard soldier and injuring another in a Thanksgiving week attack in Washington, D.C., could now face the death penalty after prosecutors moved the case to federal court. The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has filed a criminal complaint against 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, charging him with two federal firearms offenses: transporting or shipping a stolen firearm in interstate commerce and transporting or receiving firearms in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to commit a crime. Lakanwal is also charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault with intent to kill while armed.

M Ravi never gave up despite the odds stacked against him by the Singapore regime, which has always used its grip on the legal process to silence critics. M Ravi, one of Singapore's best-known personalities who was at the forefront of legal cases challenging the PAP regime over human rights violations, has died. He was 56. The news has come as a shock to friends and activists. Singapore's The Straits Times reported that police were investigating the "unnatural death".

Ravi Madasamy, a high-profile lawyer who represented death-row inmates and campaigned against capital punishment, was found dead in the early hours, prompting a police investigation into an unnatural death KUALA LUMPUR — Prolific Singapore lawyer Ravi Madasamy who tried to save Malaysian drug traffickers from the gallows found dead in the early hours with police investigating a case of unnatural death. Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who had previously represented 56-year-old Ravi in court and described him as a friend, said he was deeply saddened by the news.

Iran detained about 2,000 people accused of links to enemy intelligence networks during and after the 12-day war with Israel in June, a senior armed forces official said on Tuesday. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the armed forces’ cultural deputy, said a “wide spy network” had taken shape over several years with significant investment in training and organization. “A large network of spies and enemy agents had been formed, and years of effort and heavy costs were spent to build it,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

Saudi Arabia has surpassed its record for the number of executions carried out annually for a second year in a row. At least 347 people have now been put to death this year, up from a total of 345 in 2024, according to the UK-based campaign group Reprieve , which tracks executions in Saudi Arabia and has clients on death row. It said this was the “bloodiest year of executions in the kingdom since monitoring began”. The latest prisoners to be executed were two Pakistani nationals convicted of drug-related offences. Others put to death this year include a journalist and two young men who were children at the time of their alleged protest-related crimes. Five were women.

Two Pakistani nationals have been executed for the crime of drug smuggling In the Saudi city of Makkah. According to a statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the two Pakistani citizens attempted to smuggle heroin and other narcotics into Saudi Arabia by concealing them in different parts of their bodies, after which they were arrested. Authorities said that after the crime was proven, the court handed down the death sentence.  Following the rejection of appeals against the verdict by the Supreme Court, a royal decree was issued to carry out the sentence.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 20, 2025: State media reported the execution of Aghil Keshavarz, an architecture student at Shahroud University. He had been arrested for “filming the army’s Urmia Infantry Division headquarters” and sentenced to death on the charge of espionage for Israel. Condemning Aghil Keshavarz’s execution, Iran Human Rights calls on the international community to take practical action to halt executions in Iran.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Supreme Court has upheld a state law allowing non-unanimous juries to sentence people to death, cementing the lowest bar in the country for death sentences at a time when the state is driving a national increase in executions. In a decision released Thursday, the court affirmed a 2023 law that ended a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing, rejecting arguments by death row inmates Michael Hunt and Michael Jackson that their sentences are unconstitutional.

Dec. 19 (Asia Today) -- Japanese prosecutors have asked the Nara District Court to sentence Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, to life in prison for the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, opting not to seek the death penalty. At a hearing Thursday, prosecutors condemned the killing as an attack on the rule of law, arguing that violence aimed at changing society cannot be excused regardless of motive. In closing arguments, prosecutors cited four factors supporting a severe sentence: the brutality of the method, extensive premeditation, the magnitude of social impact and what they called the irrationality of the motive.

Iran has put to death a man accused of spying for Israel, the latest execution since a 12-day June war between the archenemies, the judiciary's press agency announced Saturday. "The death sentence for Aghil Keshavarz, found guilty of spying for the Zionist regime, communicating and cooperating with the regime, and taking photographs of military and security sites, was carried out after being upheld by the Supreme Court and following legal procedures," the Mizan agency reported. The man, described as an agent of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence service, had been arrested between April and May in Urmia in northwestern Iran, it added.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 19, 2025: Jafar Hedayati, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Aligudarz Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Aligudarz Prison on 17 December 2025. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Jafar Hedayati. He was arrested around five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court. At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Florida executes man convicted of killing airman and girlfriend in 1987 home invasion. Frank Walls, put to death for 1987 double murder, confessed to 3 other killings; state carries out 19th execution of year. Florida executed a man Thursday convicted of fatally shooting a man and a woman during a home invasion robbery and who later confessed to 3 other killings, marking the state’s 19th execution of the year. Frank Athen Walls, 58, received a 3-drug injection at about 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. He was sentenced to death in 1988 after convictions on 2 counts of murder, 2 counts of kidnapping and burglary and theft. 

Iranian authorities executed 11 prisoners across the country on Wednesday, including a woman, according to a human rights organization that tracks executions in Iran. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said 10 men were executed in prisons in Bushehr, Damghan, Chabahar, Kashmar, Sabzevar, Malayer, Shiraz, Mashhad, and Karaj. They had been sentenced to death for murder or drug-related offenses. Separately, authorities executed Razieh Abbasi, a 40-year-old woman convicted of killing her husband, at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj in the early hours of Wednesday, Hengaw reported.

Singapore's High Court dismissed on Tuesday the first legal challenge in years to the city-state's mandatory death penalty for certain drug crimes, a blow for campaigners in a year that has seen executions peak.  Human rights activists and relatives of 3 executed drug convicts had petitioned the court, arguing that the mandatory death penalty violates parts of Singapore's constitution guaranteeing the right to life and equal protection under the law.  They also said legislation restricts judges from using their own discretion in issuing sentences, despite amendments in 2012 that carved out some exceptions. 

On December 15, 2025, Mohammad Javad Vafaei was notified at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad that his request for a retrial had been rejected by the regime’s Supreme Court. On the same day, Javad’s mother was unexpectedly granted an in-person visit with her son at Vakilabad Prison, a move that could signal his imminent execution. Furthermore, she was informed in a phone call from the prison that his sentence has been forwarded to the department for the implementation of sentences in Mashhad. His life is now in grave danger.

When something goes wrong, prison staff absorb the consequences. Florida’s execution pace is testing the limits of the law — and its workforce. I spent years inside Florida’s execution chamber as warden of Florida State Prison, personally overseeing three executions. I know what it takes to carry out a death sentence, and it permanently changed my view of capital punishment. That experience is why a recent lawsuit filed by death row inmate Frank Walls in advance of his scheduled execution Thursday should concern every Floridian.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 17, 2025: Yavar Farhadi, 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 Central Prison on 7 December 2025. His identity has been established as Yavar Farhadi, a father of one from Aligudarz. He was arrested around five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court. At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings is set to be the 19th person executed in Florida this year STARKE, Fla. -- A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening. Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Walls was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, burglary and theft and sentenced to death in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court later reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, and Walls was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1992.

Naveed Akram, the surviving suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, the New South Wales Police say. His father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene. Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia's Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. It was the country's deadliest shooting since 1996.

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application.  Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

Texas also saw counties set the fewest new execution dates in at least three decades, according to an annual report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Harris County was an outlier in that trend. Texas continued a long-term downward trend in capital punishment in 2025, coming in a distant second-place tie behind Florida in terms of the number of executions carried out in U.S. states. There have been five executions apiece this year in Texas, Alabama and South Carolina. Florida leads the nation with 18.

Executions in the U.S. nearly doubled in 2025 over the previous year as Florida executed more prisoners in a 12-month span than ever before, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The organization, which tracks capital punishment, released its year-end report on Monday. It showed a complicated picture: although public support for the death penalty remained at a low point, executions ticked upward. "These trends show there is a real disconnect between what the American public wants and what elected officials are doing with the death penalty," said Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI). The group does not take a position on the death penalty itself but is critical of how it has been applied.

An Iranian cultural activist has been formally charged with “armed rebellion,” an offense that can carry the death penalty, according to a human rights organization. Ehsan Rostami appeared on December 10 at Branch Five of the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, where he was charged on suspicion of membership in groups opposed to the government, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. Rostami was immediately transferred to solitary confinement at Evin Prison following the charging session.

The kingdom has killed 340 people so far this year, according to AFP's count, and has in recent years trailed only China and Iran among countries carrying out the death penalty. DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Saudi Arabia has broken its own record for executions carried out in a single year, according to an AFP tally, after authorities said three people were put to death Monday. The kingdom has killed 340 people so far this year, according to AFP's count, and has in recent years trailed only China and Iran among countries carrying out the death penalty.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 15, 2025: Mohammad Rahimi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Gorgan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Gorgan Central Prison on 14 December 2025. His identity has been established as 50-year-old Mohammad Rahimi. He was arrested two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases by the Revolutionary Court. At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A proposed law could mean the death penalty for more child rapists in Tennessee. The legislation adds circumstances under which a rapist could be executed, like filming the attack. “It’s another tool,” the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Greg Martin, said. A new bill at the Tennessee State Capitol is aimed at making it easier for prosecutors to seek the death penalty against child rapists. Lawmakers said it builds on a law passed just last year, one that first opened the door for juries to consider the death penalty in some child rape cases.

New drugs and med­ical treat­ments under­go rig­or­ous test­ing to ensure they are safe and effec­tive for pub­lic use. Under fed­er­al and state reg­u­la­tions, this test­ing typ­i­cal­ly involves clin­i­cal tri­als with human sub­jects, who face sig­nif­i­cant health and safe­ty risks as the first peo­ple exposed to exper­i­men­tal treat­ments. That is why the law requires them to be ful­ly informed of the poten­tial effects and give their vol­un­tary con­sent to par­tic­i­pate in trials. Yet these reg­u­la­tions have not been fol­lowed when states seek to use nov­el and untest­ed exe­cu­tion meth­ods — sub­ject­ing pris­on­ers to poten­tial­ly tor­tur­ous and uncon­sti­tu­tion­al­ly painful deaths. Some experts and advo­cates argue that states must be bound by the eth­i­cal and human rights prin­ci­ples of bio­med­ical research before using these meth­ods on prisoners.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 10, 2025: At least six men, including four Baluch minorities, were secretly executed in a group hanging in Birjand Central Prison. Ramezan Deldadeh, Behzad Mazarzehi, Ali Barahouyi, Mirzakhan Basati and two unidentified Baluch men were on death row for drug-related offences. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least six men were hanged in Birjand Central Prison on 9 December 2025. They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. Two of the men who were Baluch minorities have not been identified at the time of writing.

Iran on Saturday executed a woman in the country's northwest after convicting her of killing her four-year-old stepdaughter, the judiciary said. The child, identified as Ava, died in December 2023 after sustaining brain injuries caused by wounds inflicted by her stepmother, the judiciary's Mizan Online news outlet reported at the time. Following legal proceedings, the woman was sentenced in March 2024 to qisas , a punishment which allows the family of a victim to demand the death penalty.

Thirty-seven years after confessing to a series of rapes and the murder of Karen Pulley, Nichols expressed remorse in final words Strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution Thursday morning, Harold Wayne Nichols made a final statement.  “To the people I’ve harmed, I’m sorry,” he said, according to prison officials and media witnesses. “To my family, know that I love you. I know where I’m going to. I’m ready to go home.”

For the first time, the NGO states that the scale and brutality of the atrocities exceed previously documented war crimes and clearly constitute crimes against humanity Amnesty International released a sharply critical report on Thursday, asserting that Hamas committed crimes against humanity during its October 7, 2023 attack in Israel.  The organization documents acts of murder, torture, and both physical and sexual violence against hostages abducted during the assault. The report, titled “Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza,” concludes that most civilians killed that day died as a result of deliberate actions by Palestinian armed groups.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday said he will not intervene to stop the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols. Nichols, 64, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday for the 1988 rape and murder of Karen Pulley, a 20-year-old student at Chattanooga State University. Nichols confessed to killing Pulley as well as raping several other women in the Chattanooga area. Although he expressed remorse at trial, he admitted that he would have continued his violent behavior had he not been arrested. He was sentenced to death in 1990.

By day, Harold Wayne Nichols appeared to be a loving husband who was adored by his wife. By night, he was a serial predator who attacked women at their most vulnerable and raped them. Tennessee is set to execute a serial rapist, dubbed the "red-headed stranger," for the brutal murder of one of his victims, a promising young college student attacked in her bed. RELATED  |  Tennessee governor won't intervene to stop latest execution by lethal injection Harold Wayne Nichols, 64, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday, Dec. 11, for the 1988 rape and murder of 20-year-old Karen Pulley, who was bludgeoned, raped, and left for dead.

Mark Allen Geralds was convicted of killing a mother of two in Panama City Beach The state of Florida executed 58-year-old Mark Allen Geralds at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday at Florida State Prison, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was convicted of the 1989 murder of a Bay County mother.  Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 7 signed a death warrant for Geralds. Geralds' last words were “I’m sorry that I missed you [unintelligible]. I love you everyday,” according to witness and journalist John Koch.  Geralds was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, burglary and grand theft auto in 1990. Shortly after his death warrant was signed, he waived his right to make any further appeals in court.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 8, 2025: Farshid Jafarzadeh, Sirouz Zabihi and Ali Saoudi were executed Rasht Central Prison. Another man named Mehdi Rajab Alizadeh was returned to his cell after obtaining a last minute extension in his case. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 7 December 2025. Two of the men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Farshid Jafarzadeh from the village of Gafsheh in Rasht and Sirous Zabihi from Karaj, both 32. Farshid was arrested around five years ago and Sirous was arrested for allegedly killing another individual during a street fight around three years ago.