Death Penalty News

TOKYO—People whose lives were upended by the 1995 deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo cult marked the 31st anniversary on Friday, with their pain still unhealed despite growing worries about public memory of the event fading. Shizue Takahashi, who lost her husband, then a deputy stationmaster at Kasumigaseki Station, was among those who offered flowers and prayers. Station staff observed a moment of silence at around 8 a.m., when the worst terrorist attack on Japan occurred during the morning rush hour. "People who lost their family members as well as survivors continue to suffer to this date. Even after more than 30 years, the horror (of the attack) lingers," the 79-year-old said.

In his complaint, Michael Wade Nance said his veins were so severely compromised that they were likely to blow and cause him to suffer “excruciating pain” during the execution. ATLANTA (CN) — A panel for the 11th Circuit on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling against a death row inmate who sought an execution by a firing squad instead of lethal injection. The decision paves the way for the state’s long-awaited execution of Michael Wade Nance, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death over 25 years ago. In a unanimous opinion, the circuit judges agreed with a federal judge’s conclusion that Nance failed to prove lethal injection was likely to cause him an unconstitutional level of pain or discomfort.

Youth crackdown follows arrest, but young North Koreans say South Korean songs understand them better than the state does When a Ministry of State Security agent stopped a young man in a Hyesan alley in mid-February 2026 and demanded to know why he was listening to “rotten South Korean music,” he likely expected contrition. He did not get it. The man cited the lyrics back at him, word for word, and explained precisely why they resonated. The agent filed a report. The case went to the city party committee. A citywide ideological lecture followed.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 March 2026: State media reported the executions of protesters Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi and Mehdi Ghasemi who were accused of participating in the murders of two policemen during protests in Qom on 8 January 2026. The executions were carried out “in the presence of a group of people in Qom.” The three protesters are the first to be hanged in relation to the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests. Condemning the executions in the strongest terms, IHRNGO warns about the danger of the mass execution of protesters and political prisoners in the coming weeks.

In his appeal, James Broadnax, who wants a new trial, included a signed confession by his cousin saying he committed the 2008 Garland murders. With just 42 days remaining until his scheduled execution by lethal injection on April 30, 2026, in Huntsville, Texas death row inmate James Broadnax, 37, filed a new appeal Thursday with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, seeking to stay the date, remand his case for a new trial, and ultimately vacate his death sentence for the 2008 capital murders of music producers Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Zion Gate Records studio in Garland. A fabricated story The appeal centers on a signed written declaration from Broadnax's cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, 37—dated March 11 and obtained by media outlets in which Cummings confesses that he alone planned the June 19, 2008, robbery, obtained the pistol used in the crime, and fired the fatal shots during the botched holdup that netted only $2 in cash and a 1995 Fo...

Iran executed three men on Thursday who were accused of killing police officers during protests in January, with activists warning of the risk of a new surge in hangings as war rages with Israel and the United States. They were the first hangings Iran has carried out related to the nationwide demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities. Rights groups said the trio, who included a teenager who had taken part in international wrestling competitions, were executed without a fair trial and had given confessions under torture.

A Lincoln County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder in the killings of his father and uncle, forgoing a trial where he planned to argue that years of childhood sexual abuse by the victims contributed to his actions. Brandon Mullins, 27, of Eubank, Ky., entered the plea in Lincoln Circuit Court as part of an agreement with prosecutors. He will serve 40 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April. The bodies of Mullins' father, Dennis “Ed” Mullins, 57, and uncle, Anthony Mullins, 55, were discovered inside a trailer on Sandidge Spur Road in Eubank in what authorities described as a double homicide. Mullins faced additional charges including tampering with physical evidence.

The proposal, aligned with President Trump’s executive order, would ease certification requirements and make approvals permanent for qualifying states WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is proposing a rule aimed at speeding up the federal review process in state death penalty cases — a move officials say could significantly shorten the time between conviction and execution. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the proposal on March 17 , describing it as part of a broader effort to streamline capital case proceedings and reduce delays that can stretch on for years.

Iran has reportedly carried out the execution of a man it accused of espionage for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The man was executed on Wednesday, March 18, marking the first such death penalty carried out since the outbreak of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Tehran. Sweden confirmed the executed individual held Swedish citizenship, prompting sharp condemnation from Stockholm and a diplomatic summons for Iran’s ambassador.

The executed man was arrested in June 2025. A Swedish citizen was executed in Iran on Wednesday, according to a statement released by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. “It is with dismay that I have received information that a Swedish citizen has been executed in Iran earlier today,” Stenergard wrote, adding “the responsibility for this rests solely with Iran.” The executed man, who has not been named, was arrested in June 2025 according to the Foreign Ministry.

Egypt’s Court of Cassation issued a final and irrevocable ruling on Sunday upholding the death sentence for Karim Selim, known as the “Tagamoa killer,” for murdering 3 women and disposing their bodies in desert areas.  The court based its decision on the proven material and moral elements of the crimes attributed to the defendant, which include premeditated murder, desecration of the bodies, human trafficking, and possession of narcotics.  During his arguments before the Court of Cassation, the defendant’s lawyers insisted on overturning the earlier verdict and requesting a retrial, citing arguments related to his client’s mental instability.

Christian sanitation worker falsely accused under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and imprisoned for over 3 years could receive the death penalty ISLAMABAD (10 March 2026) – A Pakistani Christian father accused under the country’s draconian blasphemy laws is awaiting a potential death penalty verdict in a case that raises serious concerns about religious freedom and the exploitation of blasphemy accusations by organized networks.  The trial proceedings concerning Pakistani Christian Ishtiaq Saleem have reached a critical stage, with the court completing hearings relating to false blasphemy-charges against Saleem, while proceedings continue for his co-accused. 

OSAKA – The Osaka High Court ruled Tuesday that a defendant's withdrawal of his appeal against a death sentence in the Kyoto Animation arson-murder case is valid. Shinji Aoba, 47, was sentenced to death by the Kyoto District Court in January 2024 and appealed the sentence the following month.  However, he retracted the appeal in January 2025. His lawyers then filed an appeal with the high court to contest the validity of his decision , claiming that a death sentence should not be made final on impulse. In Tuesday's ruling, presiding Judge Hisashi Ito said that Aoba clearly understood the meaning of his decision.

Iran has executed a man identified as Kourosh Keyvani after convicting him of espionage for Israel, according to reports by the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency. Mizan said Keyvani was executed on Wednesday morning after his death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. He had been accused of passing “images and information of sensitive locations” to officers of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The report said Keyvani was arrested in Savojbolagh on the fourth day of the 12-day war in June. Authorities said the case had gone through legal procedures, but no independent evidence supporting the allegations was made public.

Killer of stay-at-home mom whose death led to 911 reform is executed Michael King kidnapped Denise Amber Lee from her Florida home in broad daylight in 2008. If it weren't for a botched 911 call, Lee may have survived the ordeal.  Florida has executed a death row inmate for the rape and murder of a stay-at-home mom whose death exposed the vulnerabilities of the 911 system nationwide and led to reform within the industry.  Michael King, 54, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, March 17, for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee. King abducted the married mother of 2 young sons from her home in broad daylight on Jan. 17, 2008, less than an hour before Lee's husband returned from work. 

A district court in eastern Japan has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing a family of three four years ago. The defendant, 43-year-old Saito Jun, was charged with using an axe to kill William Bishop Jr., a 69-year-old US national, his 68-year old wife, Morita Izumi, and their 32-year-old daughter, Morita Sophianna Megumi in December, 2022. The daughter had been visiting their home in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture. Prosecutors sought a death sentence, claiming he could be held fully responsible. But the defense argued the court should cautiously judge whether he is indeed the perpetrator, and should he be found guilty, he could not be held criminally responsible due to mental illness.

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Florida is preparing to carry out its fourth execution of the year as advocates against the death penalty warn about what they call a record pace of executions in the state. Fifty-four-year-old Michael King is scheduled to be executed Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the 2008 rape and murder of Denise Amber Lee. King will become the 32nd person to be executed under Governor Ron DeSantis. Advocates with the Tampa-based nonprofit Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty say the growing number of executions in Florida is concerning.

A man convicted of the 1990 murder of his neighbor while burglarizing her home is scheduled to be the 6th person executed in Florida this year. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday, March 13, issued a death warrant for Chadwick Willacy, 58.  Willacy was in Marlys Sather's home when she arrived home from work unexpectedly. He struck her several times, tied her up, attempted to strangle her, and then set the house on fire after removing the smoke detectors and dousing her with gasoline, prosecutors said. Willacy's record to that point included some minor offenses in New York and Florida, mostly drug-related.

Alabama governor commuted death sentence of Charles Burton, 75, who didn't kill anyone An Alabama man who was outside a building when a man was killed in an armed robbery is looking at life as "a gift from God" after being granted clemency by the state’s governor just days before he was scheduled to be executed.  Charles "Sonny" Burton, 75, was sentenced to death for his role in the robbery of a Talladega AutoZone store that left a man dead in 1991.  While Burton left the store before Derrick DeBruce gunned down customer Doug Battle, he was tried and convicted as an accomplice, with prosecutors insisting Burton acted as the group’s leader in the armed robbery. 

The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday sentenced four defendants to death for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking ring in the city. Those receiving the death penalty for "illegal trading narcotic substances" were Nguyen Binh Dai (born in 1988), Mac Vinh Khiem (1991), Thai Duy Quang (1990), and Nguyen Binh Trieu (1972), all residents of HCMC. In the same case, Tran Tong Dung, born in 1974, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for illegal drug trading and storage. Huynh My Ngoc (2002), Thach Ngoc Yen Vy (2001), and Nguyen Dai Nghia (1997) received life sentences, while Pham Thanh Phuong (1997) from An Giang Province was sentenced to 20 years in jail for illegally transporting drugs.

SB 134 would expand enhanced penalties for child abuse to all victims under 18 LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers are discussing tougher penalties for people who abuse children. The bill — Jayden’s Law — comes after the death of 10-year-old Jayden Spicer from Breathitt County. Spicer was was reported missing in August and after nearly a weeklong search, his body was found. State Senator Brandon Smith, R - Hazard, remembers the search.

NASHVILLE, TN — State lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would expand the state’s death penalty statute to allow the death penalty in certain child rape cases. On Wed. March 11, the House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1454, which would add 12 new aggravating factors to Tennessee law that prosecutors must prove before a jury can impose a death sentence. Bill sponsor Greg Martin, R-Hixson, said the measure is intended to close a gap that was discovered after lawmakers authorized the death penalty for child rape last year.

The use of the death penalty has risen sharply in the United States, with more executions in 2025 than any year since 2009. It is a cruel and unjust development. In theory, the death penalty is reserved for “the worst of the worst.” In practice, it is very different. People who are executed for their crimes are disproportionately poor or intellectually disabled and often lacked good lawyers. They are also more likely to be sentenced to death if they have been convicted of killing a white person. Anthony Boyd, who maintained his innocence until Alabama executed him last year at age 54, had an inexperienced court-appointed lawyer and was convicted on disputed eyewitness testimony. Charles Flores, 56, has spent 27 years on death row in Texas for a murder conviction based solely on unreliable testimony from a hypnotized witness. Robert Roberson, who has autism, remains on death row there despite having been convicted on now-debunked evidence that he had shaken his daughter to death.

A March 9, 2026, com­pe­ten­cy hear­ing for Andre Thomas, a death-sen­tenced pris­on­er in Texas, has been post­poned to an unspec­i­fied date because of con­cerns that Mr. Thomas is too men­tal­ly ill to be trans­port­ed to his com­pe­ten­cy hear­ing and he could not be re-exam­ined by the State’s expert. Mr. Thomas was sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed in April 2023; how­ev­er, his exe­cu­tion date was with­drawn in March 2023 , cit­ing con­cerns with his severe men­tal ill­ness (SMI) and com­pe­ten­cy to face execution.

SYDNEY — Six members of Iran’s women’s national football team have been granted humanitarian asylum in Australia after a high-stakes protest against their home government left them facing potential charges of "wartime treason." The athletes, who were competing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, sparked a diplomatic crisis on March 2 by refusing to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem before their opening match against South Korea.

In Somalia, Uganda, and Mauritania, the offense can carry the death penalty. DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal‘s parliament has approved a new bill that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the largely Muslim West African nation, the latest African country to impose harsh penalties against the LGBT community. The new bill, which was introduced to parliament last month by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, describes homosexual acts as being “against nature.” It doubles the punishment for those convicted from prison sentences of one to five years to between five and 10 years. Nearly all lawmakers voted in favor of the bill during Wednesday’s plenary, with no opposition and three abstentions. It needs presidential assent before becoming a law, with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye widely expected to sign it.

SINGAPORE – Despite criticism against Singapore and international tolerance in attitudes towards drug abuse, the Republic will continue to take a very tough line in its war against drug abuse. Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said this on March 12 at the Community Resilience Against Drug Abuse Roundtable 2026 held at Furama RiverFront hotel. Citing the World Drug Report 2025, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said 292 million people worldwide used drugs in 2022. This figure jumped to about 316 million in 2023. He said that while many countries had either given up on the fight against drugs or were planning to legalise drugs, Singapore had done the opposite by continuing to be tough on drugs.

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution.  Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.  He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The fate of the man who shot and killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket in May 2022 will be determined in the city where the tragedy occurred. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo on Tuesday denied a motion to move the federal death penalty trial for Payton Gendron to Rochester.  Attorneys for Gendron had sought the change of venue, arguing the court would be unable to seat a fair and impartial jury due to "pervasive news coverage" in the Buffalo area.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, who was set to be executed Thursday. The governor’s office released the following statement: “Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that she has commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison with no chance of parole. Mr. Burton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, Alabama. As required by law, the governor first reached out to a representative of Mr. Battle’s family. She also notified the attorney general. Governor Ivey’s letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm is attached.

DPI’s ​“What to Know” series exam­ines cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment from mul­ti­ple angles, one top­ic at a time. Each install­ment pro­vides essen­tial facts and data on spe­cif­ic aspects of the death penal­ty. This install­ment looks at the costs asso­ci­at­ed with pur­suit of death sen­tences and executions. Why it mat­ters: The ques­tion at the heart of this issue is whether the assumed ben­e­fits of the death penal­ty are worth its costs and whether oth­er sys­tems might pro­vide sim­i­lar ben­e­fits at less cost. "It is a sim­ple fact that seek­ing the death penal­ty is more expen­sive. There is not one cred­i­ble study, to our knowl­edge, that presents evi­dence to the contrary." —  From An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Capital Punishment in Oklahoma, Prepared for the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission, 2017

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years. Lance Shockley, a man on death row in Missouri, wanted items from the crime scene to undergo DNA testing to potentially prove his innocence. The court scheduled proceedings on his request — but the date set was for two days after his execution. Patty Prewitt can’t have her DNA tested — and fully clear her name — because her sentence was commuted and she is no longer in prison. And others, including Lamar McVay, who is serving 30 years for a robbery, can’t even get an answer from the state on his DNA testing request. He's still awaiting a ruling on a motion he filed in September 2022.

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors.  According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors.  According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

With an execution scheduled in days and growing calls for mercy, a petition with more than 60,000 signatures is urging Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to grant clemency to death row prisoner Sonny Burton, whose case has drawn national attention because he did not personally commit the killing that led to his conviction.  Burton, 75, has spent more than three decades on Alabama’s death row and is scheduled to be executed March 12 at Holman Correctional Facility. Supporters argue his case raises serious questions about fairness under Alabama’s felony murder law. 

ORLANDO, Fla. (DPN) — A Florida judge has dashed the hopes of one of the nation’s longest-serving death row inmates, ruling Friday, March 6, that modern DNA evidence and forensic analysis are not enough to grant 80-year-old William “Tommy” Zeigler a new trial for a 50-year-old quadruple murder. In a sweeping 44-page order, Circuit Judge Patricia Strowbridge denied Zeigler’s motion, ending the latest chapter in a legal saga that began on a bloody Christmas Eve in 1975.  The judge concluded that while new forensic technology identified DNA from unidentified males on the victims' clothing, it did not provide the "clear and convincing" proof required to overturn a conviction.

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

HENDERSON, Nev. (DPN) — A Henderson woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars after admitting to the drowning deaths of her two young children, according to court records and local authorities. Jovan Trevino, 33, reached a plea agreement with Clark County prosecutors to avoid a potential death sentence. Under the terms of the deal, Trevino pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and waived her right to a trial.  A judge subsequently sentenced her to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.