Death Penalty News

Israel’s Knesset National Security Committee on Tuesday advanced preparations for legislation that would expand the use of the death penalty for convicted terrorists, holding a charged debate that exposed deep divisions between security officials, legal authorities, lawmakers, and bereaved families. The discussion focused on two proposed amendments to Israel’s Penal Law that would make it easier to impose capital punishment in cases of severe terrorist attacks. Israel formally retains the death penalty in limited statutes, including for crimes against humanity and genocide, but it has been carried out only once since the state’s founding, making the move highly controversial domestically and internationally.

Overall, 37 people have been taken to the United States Mexico announced the extradition of dozens more cartel operatives to the United States, the third such operation under the presidency of Claudia Sheinbaum. Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch announced in a social media publication that 37 people have been sent to the United States. He noted that the people "represented a real threat to the country's security" and the extraditions were carried "in accordance with the National Security Law and under mechanisms of bilateral cooperation with full respect for national sovereignty."

Kuwait City: Kuwait’s Court of Appeals has upheld the death sentence against a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend in the Rumaithiya suburb and attempting to conceal her body inside a suitcase to smuggle it out of the country, local media reported. The ruling, issued after a hearing chaired by Judge Abdullah Al Othman, amended the legal classification of the crime to premeditated murder by strangulation while maintaining the maximum penalty.

Four Prisoners Executed on Charges of Murder and Drug Offenses HRANA – Amid nationwide protests in Iran, widespread internet shutdowns, and severe restrictions on the flow of information, at least four prisoners were executed on Tuesday, January 20, in Borazjan, Ilam, Khaf, and Birjand prisons.  These prisoners had previously been sentenced to death on charges related to drug-related crimes and murder. Based on information received by HRANA, Mikaeil Bahari was executed in Borazjan Prison and Kamran Ghiasvand in Ilam Prison on charges of murder. Foroud Sagvand, a native of Lorestan, was executed in Khaf Prison, and Mardan Saeedi was executed in Birjand Prison, both on charges related to drug offenses.

NARA, Japan — More than three years after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stunned Japan and reverberated around the world, the man who killed the country’s longest-serving leader was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday. The ruling brings formal closure to one of the most shocking crimes in Japan’s postwar history, while leaving unresolved questions about political accountability, religious influence, and the rare eruption of gun violence in a nation defined by its absence.

At least six politically motivated executions in January 2026 alone Saudi authorities carried out the execution of three Saudi citizens on Sunday, January 18, in a mass execution described as taʿzīr (discretionary), marking the second mass execution since the beginning of 2026. This brings the number of politically motivated executions to six within less than one month.

TEHRAN, Iran (DPN) — Iran's national police chief on Monday issued a three-day ultimatum to participants in weeks-long nationwide protests, urging those he described as "deceived" young people to surrender themselves for leniency while warning that others would face the full force of the law. National Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan appeared on state television to declare that individuals who "became unwittingly involved in the riots" would be treated as "deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers" and receive lighter punishment if they turned themselves in within three days. Those who fail to comply, he said, would confront severe consequences under Iranian law.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 20 January 2026: Kian Manouchehri, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Yazd Central Prison. According to information obtained by IHRNGO, a man was hanged in Yazd Central Prison on 18 January 2026. His identity has been established Kian Manouchehri, a 22-year-old Ardakan native arrested three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 January 2026: Cousins Saeed and Ali Partouy, Arash Shams, Naser Mirzayi and Sohrab Imani, five men on death row for murder, were executed in Shiraz Central Prison. Naser Mirzayi was executed on the request of the prosecutor after being forgiven by the victim’s family “because his brother is a member of People’s Mojahedin Organisation.” According to information obtained by IHRNGO, five men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 31 December 2025. All five men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Two of the men were cousins Ali Partouy, and 24-year-old Saeed Partouy who worked as car mechanics in the same repair shop. They were arrested for the murder of a policeman in Shiraz around two years ago.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 January 2026: Twenty-three days since the start of the nationwide protests in Iran and twelve days after the internet blackout, information and eyewitness accounts are revealing the scale of the large-scale killing of protesters by state forces. Given the magnitude of these crimes and the severe restrictions on communications, it is not currently possible to publish precise casualty figures in line with the IHRNGO’s standards, which require multi-layered verification and confirmation by at least two independent sources. For this reason, the organisation will refrain from issuing daily statistics until sufficient documentation has been obtained.

JANUARY 19, 2026 05:59 — Iran’s supreme leader has now openly acknowledged what the Islamic Republic has spent weeks trying to obscure from the world. In remarks carried by Iranian state media on Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted that “several thousand deaths” had occurred during Iran’s latest wave of nationwide protests, while blaming the United States and Israel for the bloodshed. Protesters, he declared, were “criminals,” “mercenaries,” and mohareb (enemies of God) – a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law.

HRANA – Amid nationwide protests and the ongoing, widespread internet shutdown in Iran, authorities have carried out the death sentences of at least 17 prisoners in various prisons across the country. The individuals had previously been convicted on charges including murder, drug-related offenses, and moharebeh (enmity against God) through armed robbery. Based on information received by HRANA, on January 18, Yazdan Mardanpour was executed in Kermanshah Prison; Fereydoun Goodarzi in Aligudarz Prison; Pouya Najafi in Dezful Prison; Bijan Shahrokhi in Khorramabad Prison; Akbar Ganji in Nahavand Prison; Ali Asghar Shahi in Yasuj Prison; and Shiroodeh Maqsoodi in Borujerd Prison. These individuals had previously been arrested on murder charges and were later sentenced to death by criminal courts.

HRANA – Amid nationwide protests and the continued widespread internet shutdown in Iran, between January 12 to January 15, 2026, the death sentences of at least 22 prisoners, including one woman, were carried out in various prisons across the country.  These individuals had previously been sentenced to death on charges including murder, drug-related crimes, and moharebeh (enmity against God) through armed robbery.

Pam Bondi tells Florida pro-Israel conference that Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were ‘murdered because they were Jewish’  US Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office would seek the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of murdering Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington in May, the Miami Herald, reported Friday.  Bondi made the announcement in a speech at the Israeli American Council (IAC) National Summit in Florida on Friday. 

An autopsy of Richard Djerf, the most recent inmate executed by the state, showed the medical staff of the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry ran into trouble in properly laying IV lines, with one needle failing to puncture a vein and leaving fluid in the surrounding tissue.  Difficulty with setting IV lines is not new in the state, as medical teams in the majority of inmates executed between 2010 and 2025 struggled to properly insert IVs in both arms and resorted to insertion in places like the hand, or the femoral artery, located near the groin. 

Recent statements by Iranian officials and their apparent acceptance by some foreign leaders have created a misleading sense of reassurance about the state’s response to the latest protests.  Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News on Wednesday that Tehran had “no plan to execute protesters.” President Donald Trump told reporters he had it “on good authority” that the killing of protesters had stopped.  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that Tehran had halted 800 executions slated for the previous day following warnings by Trump. 

A judge ruled Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued on claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting. Before Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles’ order, reporters witnessing lethal injections were limited to a short time period during which they could view the execution process. The coalition’s lawsuit argued the protocols violate the public and press’s constitutional rights to witness the entirety of executions conducted by the Tennessee Department of Correction, “from the time the condemned enters the execution chamber until after the condemned is declared dead.”

In the wake of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s recent decision to grant clemency to Tremane Wood, a non-shooter in a capital case, national death penalty advocates are intensifying calls for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to halt the execution of Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old, wheelchair-bound man facing an imminent execution date.  Advocates argue that Burton’s case presents even more compelling circumstances than Wood’s, pointing to evidence that Burton neither fired a weapon nor was present in the building at the time of the fatal shooting. The individual who carried out the killing was later resentenced to life without parole, a disparity critics say highlights the extreme disproportionality of Burton’s death sentence. 

The death penalty would be applied in situations where the victim is under 12 years of age.  A bill that would allow the death penalty in certain cases of child rape, sodomy or sexual torture has passed its 1st hurdle as lawmakers have prioritized the bill for the 2026 session.  House Bill 41 by Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, would allow for the death penalty in cases where an individual has been convicted of the rape, sodomy or sexual torture of a child under 12 years of age.  “Some people need to die,” Simpson said during discussion of the bill. “That is exactly the point. This is the worst of the worst offenses. These people are taking advantage of children who cannot defend themselves. These are the absolute victims of society.” 

Maldivian government says capital punishment for large-scale drug offences reflects public support and aims to curb trafficking and social harm  The Maldivian government will begin enforcing the death penalty for major drug trafficking offences from April 2026, following amendments to the country’s Drugs Act that officials say reflect strong public support and a tougher national stance against narcotics.  The decision follows the ratification and gazetting of the 3rd amendment to the Drugs Act on December 6, which sets April 6, 2026, as the date the revised law comes into force. The amendment significantly expands penalties for large-scale drug possession and trafficking, marking the most sweeping change to the legislation since it was first enacted. 

The reported killing of thousands of protesters across Iran in just two days has raised a central question: who carried out one of the deadliest crackdowns in the country’s modern history? The scale of the violence—put at 12,000 by Iran International and as high as 20,000 by CBS—has shocked many Iranians. As images and accounts continue to emerge despite a near-total internet shutdown, attention has focused on who was responsible for the bloodshed.

Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami called for the execution of detained protesters and the arrest of anyone who supported the protests, delivering the remarks during his Friday sermon. Khatami, a hardline cleric appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader, accused protesters of acting on behalf of foreign powers, calling them “servants" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "soldiers of Trump." “They should await a harsh retaliation from the government. Americans and Zionists should not expect peace,” Khatami said. “The demonstrators were servants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and soldiers of Trump.”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 15 January 2026: Nineteen days into the anti-government nationwide protests in Iran, IHRNGO continues to receive reports of the extent of the bloody crackdown on protests through individuals who have recently left Iran, phone calls and communications through satellite internet devices. These accounts indicate the wide scale of repression and the systematic killing of protesters across Iran. IHRNGO has obtained new evidence of state forces using heavy weaponry including DShK and other mounted machine guns, in attacks on protesters and carried out mass killings between 8 and 11 January.

South Korea's beleaguered ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol has been found guilty of abuse of power, falsifying documents and obstructing justice when he tried and failed to impose martial law in the country in 2024. He has also been sentenced to five years in jail. Yoon is facing three other trials for charges ranging from insurrection to violating campaign law. The verdict comes more than a year after his short-lived decree threw South Korea into political turmoil, leaving it deeply divided.

CONCORD, N.H. — Opponents of the death penalty turned out in big numbers in Concord again Thursday to speak against legislation to bring capital punishment back to New Hampshire. The opposition testifying Thursday included a former death row inmate. "I was convicted in 1985, wrongfully convicted in 1985 of first-degree murder, which I didn't commit," said former death row inmate Paul Hildwin. Hildwin spent three decades on death row in Florida before DNA evidence proved his innocence.

On January 17, 2006, California exe­cut­ed Clarence Ray Allen — the last per­son put to death by the state. Two decades lat­er, California’s death row pop­u­la­tion has fall­en to 580 pris­on­ers , down from its peak near 750 in the mid-2010s . In the time since Mr. Allen’s exe­cu­tion, the death penal­ty in California has seen sus­tained scruti­ny as con­cerns with racial dis­crim­i­na­tion, inno­cence, and costs con­tin­ue to grow. Governor Gavin Newsom has placed a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions, death-sen­tenced pris­on­ers have been moved to less restric­tive con­di­tions in gen­er­al pop­u­la­tion, and advo­cates have urged the gov­er­nor to grant mass clemency.

Osaka, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)--Osaka District Court on Friday dismissed a request from three death-row inmates for the state to ban executions by hanging. The three, whose death sentences have been finalized, claimed that executions by hanging are against an international treaty that prohibits cruel punishments. Noting that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the Japanese government, prohibits inhumane and cruel punishments, the plaintiff side claimed that executions by hanging are “cruel and should not be allowed to continue.”

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait‑and‑see posture after earlier threatening intervention. After Iran's foreign minister said Iran had "no plan" to hang people, Iranian state media on Thursday reported that a 26-year-old man arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not be given the death sentence. Earlier this week, rights organisation Hengaw reported that 26-year-old Erfan Soltani , arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, was due to be executed on Wednesday.

Victims’ families and the sole survivor urged the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to reject clemency for the man sentenced to die for a 2006 double murder. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 against recommending clemency on Wednesday for death row inmate Kendrick Simpson.  Simpson, 45, was sentenced to die by lethal injection for fatally shooting Glen Palmer, 20, and Anthony Jones, 19, after an argument at an Oklahoma City nightclub.  The Jones and Palmer families support Simpson’s execution. They urged the board to deny clemency. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 9 January 2026: Jamilollah Shahi and Mohammad Ashraf, two Afghan nationals on death row for the same drug case, were executed in Taybad Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Taybad Prison on 8 January 2026. Their identities have been established as 37-year-old Jamilollah Shahi and 33-year-old Mohammad Ashraf from the city of Charikar in Afghanistan. They were arrested around two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Iran’s judiciary chief has vowed to fast-track the “trial and punishment” of detainees alleged to have taken part in the protests spanning all of the country’s 31 provinces. In comments broadcast via state television, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, during a visit to prison in Tehran, said that the authorities must “work quickly.” According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Fars news agency's Telegram, Mohseni-Ejei also expressed a desire for the trials to be held “in public.”

Two Dutch men convicted of a 2017 mistaken identity killing in Marrakech have been re-sentenced to death. The Court of Appeal in Casablanca issued the verdict, confirmed by their lawyer Bob Kaarls after reports by De Telegraaf. The victim in the case was the son of a judge. The incident concerns a November 2, 2017, shooting on the terrace of Café La Crème in Marrakech’s Hivernage district, carried out by two men, Shardyone S. (34) and Edwin R.M. (30), firing from a motorcycle. 

The High Court's Kaohsiung branch today upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of fatally stabbing his upstairs neighbors for allegedly making excessive noise. The man, surnamed Wu (吳), was found guilty of two counts of murder and sentenced to death on each count, along with lifelong deprivation of civil rights. The ruling can be appealed. In its decision, the court said Wu acted with direct intent to kill, meeting the Constitutional Court's requirement that the death penalty be reserved for "the most serious crimes."

Activists say they are coerced confessions, long a staple of Iran's hard-line state television, the only broadcaster in the country. And these videos are coming at an unprecedented clip They are shown handcuffed, their faces blurred. The confession videos, broadcast on Iranian state media, feature dramatic background music interspersed with clips appearing to show protesters attacking security forces. Some showcase gruesome homemade weapons that authorities claim were used in the attacks. Others highlight suspects in grainy security footage, appearing to set fires or destroy property.

A court in Anqing, Anhui province, has sentenced a man to death for the murder of his former girlfriend, a 22-year-old university student, according to media reports.  The Anqing Intermediate People's Court delivered the first-instance verdict on Tuesday, finding the defendant, surnamed Lin, guilty of intentional homicide.  Court documents show that the victim, surnamed Li, met Lin online in 2018. The two entered a romantic relationship in late 2022 but broke up at the end of August 2024 following disputes.

SINGAPORE — Singapore executed two local men for drug trafficking on Friday, officials said, as the city-state maintains its zero-tolerance stance on narcotics despite continued criticism from international human rights groups. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) confirmed in a statement that the capital sentences for a 62-year-old man and a 54-year-old man, both Singaporean nationals, were carried out on Jan. 9. Both had been convicted of possessing controlled drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

SEOUL, South Korea — Special prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death, labeling his short-lived 2024 martial law declaration an "act of insurrection" that brought the nation to the brink of constitutional collapse. The demand was made during closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court, marking a dramatic climax to a trial that has gripped the country for months. Yoon, who was removed from office following the events of Dec. 3, 2024, faces charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 12 January 2026: Sixteen days into the new wave of anti-government nationwide protests in Iran, at least 648  protesters, including nine children under the age of 18, have been killed, and thousands injured. At the same time, unverified reports indicate that at least several hundred people, and according to some estimates more than 6,000, may have been killed. Due to the internet blackout since 8 January and severe restrictions on access to information, it is extremely difficult to independently verify these reports. The number of people arrested in the recent protests is estimated to exceed 10,000.

The Iranian judiciary has issued its first indictments against several detained demonstrators amid a fierce crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests that erupted in late December 2025 over severe economic hardship and escalated into calls for regime change, according to reports from Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency. The prosecutor's office in Tehran has filed charges against multiple individuals, with Tasnim reporting that cases involving especially serious "rioters" are being prioritized and handled separately. These include the charge of moharebeh ("waging war against God" or "enmity against God"), a capital offense under Iran's Islamic Penal Code that carries the death penalty.

Among the cases that are headed back to court is that of Robert Roberson, who argues he was wrongfully convicted of killing his daughter based on now-debunked science. Several appeals in some of Texas’ highest-profile capital punishment cases are set for 2026 as the state continues to maintain a historically low number of executions.  2025 marked the second year Texas was not the leading state in executions in a single year, but the state is still the overall leader nationally in the death penalty. Harris County alone, which handed down its 300th death sentence last year, accounts for more executions than any other state. 

Around 300 people marched in Taipei on Sunday against what they called Taiwan's "de facto abolition of the death penalty," ahead of an appeal-court verdict in the case of two sisters convicted of killing a 1-year-old foster child in their care.  One of the march's organizers, the parent-led group Kids' Magic Carpet, said stalled executions and reduced sentences in serious felony cases had eroded public confidence in the justice system, arguing that lighter punishments for violent crimes involving minors exposed children to risks that were "difficult to undo." 

Hengaw warns of imminent execution of Erfan Soltani just days after arrest  Erfan Soltani, a resident of Fardis, Karaj, who was arrested during recent protests in the city, is facing the imminent execution of a death sentence following a rapid and opaque judicial process. His family learned only days after his arrest that the execution is scheduled to take place this Wednesday.  According to reports received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old detainee arrested in connection with the ongoing protests, is at immediate risk of execution. His family has been denied access to any information regarding the charges, case file, or judicial proceedings. 

An Arkansas man was released from prison Friday after serving more than three decades for a murder he said he did not commit. Charlie Vaughn had been incarcerated since 1991 for the 1988 murder, rape, and burglary of 81-year-old Myrtle Holmes.  DNA testing conducted in 1989 had excluded Vaughn as the source of the sexual assault, but he was charged anyway and later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty, despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime.

During Lance Shockley's final moments in Missouri's execution chamber in October 2025, he wanted his daughter, an ordained minister, by his side as his spiritual adviser. A few years earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had expanded religious rights for the condemned, saying spiritual advisers could accompany them into the execution chamber and could touch them while praying aloud. But the Missouri Department of Corrections refused Shockley his chosen spiritual adviser, and he died alone.

Officials expect charge against Daricka Moore, 24, to be elevated to capital murder, with death penalty considered Authorities in Clay county, Mississippi, say a man has been taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder following the fatal shootings of six people, including a child, on Friday night. Daricka Moore, 24, is accused of killing multiple relatives as well as a local pastor before his arrest, according to Clay county sheriff Eddie Scott, who addressed the case during a Saturday news conference. Officials said the charge against Moore, who lives in the county, is expected to be elevated to capital murder, and prosecutors could seek the death penalty if he is determined to be mentally competent.

Uttar Pradesh: Man sentenced to death for killing cousin in superstition-driven sacrifice According to local sources, the convict murdered his 10-year-old cousin believing that a human sacrifice would cure his ailing son.  A local court in Bahraich has awarded the death penalty to a man for sacrificing a 10-year-old child in a superstitious ritual. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict.  Meanwhile, 2 other accused in the case, including a tantric (exorcist), were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A man convicted of killing a traveling salesman during a robbery is set to become Florida's first execution of 2026 under a death warrant signed Friday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed off on a record 19 executions last year. Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Feb. 10 at Florida State Prison. DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); January 8, 2026: Amir Hamzeh Palangi, a Baluch man on death row for murder charges, was executed in Kerman Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Kerman (Shahab) Central Prison on 6 January 2026. His identity has been established as Amir Hamzeh Palangi, a 21-year-old Baluch man from Reigan who resided in Kerman. He was the family breadwinner and took care of his elderly and sick parents. Amir was arrested at 18, around three years ago, and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due in federal court Friday for a pivotal hearing in his fight to bar the government from seeking the death penalty against him in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione’s lawyers contend that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his December 2024 arrest into a “Marvel movie” spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); January 7, 2026: State media reported the execution of Ali Ardestani for allegations of “spying in favour of Mossad intelligence and security services” by “taking and sending photographs and videos” for monetary and immigration motives. Ali is the twelfth person to be executed for alleged espionage for Israel since the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran last June.