Death Penalty News

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.  The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta. 

After about 4 hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock.  A South Florida man who dropped off a 5-year-old child in the Everglades to be eaten alive by gators nearly 3 decades ago was given a second chance at life as jurors recommended he should spend the rest of his life behind bars instead of being sent to death row. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock. 

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case.  U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

In an exclusive report, the American magazine TIME cited two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health, who stated that the scale of the crackdown against protesters on January 18 and 19 was so widespread that 18-wheeler trailers replaced ambulances. In its report, based on testimony from these two high-ranking officials, TIME revealed statistics that differ vastly from the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

The head of Iran’s judiciary warned on Sunday that those behind a recent wave of anti-government protests could expect punishment “without the slightest leniency.” What began earlier this month as demonstrations against the high cost of living boiled over into a broader protest movement that represented the gravest challenge to the Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership in years. The protests have abated following a government crackdown, carried out under an internet blackout that left the country largely cut off from the outside world.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 25 January 2026: Newly obtained reports show a new wave of repressive measures have been targeted against those who provided medical assistance to injured protesters.  Security forces have raided homes and clinics, violently arresting doctors and volunteers and damaging or destroying their property. According to various reports received by IHRNGO, security forces have been cracking down on health personnel and volunteers who have fulfilled their humanitarian duty by helping treat wounded protesters.

Data and recent Supreme Court judgments show how trial court death sentences frequently collapse under appellate scrutiny, raising questions about investigation, evidence and the use of capital punishment. Hanumangarh, Rajasthan: Eight years after a crime that later led to a death sentence, the Supreme Court has acquitted a young man from Chennai convicted of the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl. A trial court in Chengalpattu had sentenced him to death in 2018, a verdict later upheld by the Madras High Court. Earlier this month, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court overturned both judgments, citing serious gaps in the prosecution’s case.

Field accounts from multiple Iranian cities show that after killing protesters, the ruling regime in Iran demanded large fees from families to release the bodies of the victims, extending repression from the streets into private life. What unfolded in Iran in January was not viewed by international human rights mechanisms as isolated incidents or excessive crowd control. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, has stated that the pattern of repression, marked by its scale, organization, and direct targeting of civilians, contains the elements of crimes against humanity.

Florida’s second execution of 2026, a man convicted of killing a grocery story owner, will take place in February. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant Jan. 23 for Melvin Trotter, 65, to die by lethal injection Feb. 24.  Florida's first execution will take place just a few weeks earlier when Ronald Palmer Heath is set to die Feb. 10. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987 for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford a year earlier in Palmetto. 

EASTLAND, Texas — Cody Pritchard received the death penalty today for the shooting death of Eastland County Deputy David Bosecker back in 2023. According to court documents, the Eastland County Sheriff's Office responded to an emergency call involving a disturbance in Rising Star. When a deputy attempted to enter the property to respond to the call, Cody Pritchard crashed a car into the patrol unit before shooting the deputy. Court documents state that Deputy David Bosecker was pronounced dead on the scene and Pritchard admitted to the crimes and was charged with Capital Murder.

The mother of a 5-year-old girl who was thrown into the Everglades and left to be attacked by alligators spoke about the trauma she and her daughter went through.  On Tuesday, prosecutors asked the jury to send the girl's killer back to Florida's death row.  Prosecutor Abbe Rifkin told the jury that Quatisha Maycock, known as "Candy," was excited to start kindergarten, showing them a photo of her smiling.  About a month after school started, Harrel Braddy took Quatisha to a remote part of Alligator Alley, the stretch of I-75 cutting through Florida's Everglades, where he knew she would vanish. 

Iran’s top prosecutor has called US President Donald Trump’s claims about halting the hangings of 800 detained protesters “completely false.” DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters there “completely false.” Meanwhile, the overall death toll from a bloody crackdown on nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 5,002, activists said. Activists fear many more are dead. They struggle to confirm information as the most comprehensive internet blackout in Iran’s history has crossed the two-week mark.

Texas prison officials will attempt to execute their 1st death row inmate of 2026 next week. Charles Thompson, who was convicted of killing his former girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, and her companion, Darren Cain, in April of 1998, is scheduled to die on Jan. 28.  An attorney representing Thompson has not replied to questions from the Chronicle about the efforts he will make to try to save Thompson’s life. As of press time, no appeal on the inmate’s behalf has been filed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. 

On the 20th anniversary of the execution of Clarence Ray Allen, civil rights advocates are urging California to make his execution the last by permanently ending the state’s death penalty. An article from The Sacramento Bee reports that advocates are calling on Gavin Newsom to begin the legal process to halt the sentences of nearly 600 people currently on death row.  On Jan. 17, 2006, at 12:38 a.m., the state of California executed Allen, 76, by lethal injection inside San Quentin State Prison. He had been convicted of three counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and was sentenced to death in 1982. 

After an attempt to add firing squads to Indiana law stalled in the Senate, a House panel on Wednesday passed a bill expanding the state’s execution methods.  Firing squad and nitrogen hypoxia would be allowed alongside lethal injection to carry about Indiana’s death penalty under a bill that passed 8-5 out of the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee.  House Bill 1119 was amended and now moves to the full chamber. Under the measure, it would be up to the Indiana Department of Correction to choose the manner of execution and state employees could not be forced to participate. 

The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on a plea seeking a painless procedure for death convicts other than hanging. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta has reserved their judgment after hearing Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora (for Project 39A), and Advocate Rishi Malhotra, who is the petitioner. In 2023, the Supreme Court had allowed an intervention application filed by National Law University, Delhi's Project 39A in the plea seeking a painless procedure for death convicts.

TEHRAN, Iran — A young Iranian soldier has been sentenced to death after refusing orders to fire on anti-government protesters amid a wave of nationwide demonstrations that began late last year, according to a human rights group. Javid Khales, a member of Iran's security forces, was arrested immediately after declining to shoot at demonstrators, the Iran Human Rights Society reported. He has since been transferred to a prison in Isfahan province.

A woman who abused and killed her stepdaughter was executed on Tuesday in Fujian province after the top court approved her death sentence, local authorities said.  Xu Jinhua was put to death by the Putian Intermediate People's Court, which had convicted her of intentional homicide and abuse and sentenced her to death.  Prosecutors supervised the execution in accordance with the law, and Xu was allowed to meet with close relatives beforehand, the court said. 

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.