Death Penalty News

The Court flagged the failure of trial courts to call for reports on mitigating circumstances and lack of meaningful representation in death penalty cases. The Supreme Court on Monday issued pan-India directions governing how courts must handle death penalty cases. [ Aman Singh & Anr v. State of Bihar ] A three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi passed the directions while hearing an appeal filed by a convict challenging a judgment of the Patna High Court, which had upheld the death penalty awarded to him in a murder case.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 February 2026: At least 26 protesters have been sentenced to death and hundreds more, including juveniles, are facing death penalty charges following the bloody massacre of the recent nationwide protests. At the same time, defendants and their families are being subjected to pressure and threats to prevent them from publicising their cases.  This is while on 16 February, the head of judiciary reiterated orders to “prosecute and punish the main perpetrators of the unrest and terrorist acts” and to “act decisively and without any leniency.” In a press conference held the next day, the judiciary spokesperson announced that 8,843 indictments had been issued in relation to the nationwide protests. 

The Iranian authorities must immediately halt all plans to execute eight individuals sentenced to death after being convicted of committing offences during the January 2026 nationwide protests, Amnesty International said today.  The organization is urging authorities to quash their convictions and death sentences, and promptly put an end to expedited torture-tainted grossly unfair trials against at least 22 others in connection to the uprising.

Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today hit out at the Singapore government over attempts to stop or discourage rights lawyers from taking on public interest cases, warning that such moves will deprive prisoners of their right to legal representation and undermine the rule of law. In a statement, it referred to applications by the Singapore Law Society and the attorney-general to stop prominent lawyer M Ravi from practising in the republic, saying that he and other rights lawyers are being “punished” for their work. “It is undeniable that M Ravi is being singled out, in view of the numerous applications filed against him for representing the death row inmates. “The exorbitant costs orders sought against him, as well as other lawyers like Violet Netto and Charles Yeo reflect the bleak legal landscape in Singapore where lawyers are actively punished and deterred from taking on public interest cases that directly challenges the government or the system,” it said in a statement by its...

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry has detailed efforts made by the government to protect Indonesian citizens (WNI) from the death penalty abroad. "There are three principles that we adhere to protect Indonesian citizens which are regulated in the Minister of Foreign Affairs' Regulation Number 5 of 2018," Director for the Protection of Citizens and Legal Entities Overseas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, said here on Monday. The first is prioritizing the responsible parties, he said. Second, the government does not take any criminal or civil responsibility, he added. Lastly, the protection is provided in accordance with national law, local state law, and customary international law, he continued. "We do not give impunity to our citizens who commit crimes abroad, but the duty of our state is to provide legal assistance," Nugraha remarked. The legal assistance is intended to ensure Indonesian citizens facing legal action in other cou...

A new book throws light on the powerful work of Project 39A, a criminal justice research centre, in understanding the humanity of those on death penalty About a year ago, the 4 convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case—Akshay Thakur, 31, Pawan Gupta, 25, Vinay Sharma, 26, and Mukesh Singh, 32—were hanged at Delhi's Tihar Jail at daybreak. The jail authorities carried out the execution swiftly, without fuss, as most hangings are, hours after the Supreme Court rejected the mercy pleas of the 4 convicts. The verdict and the subsequent execution evoked mass laudatory sentiments—they were, after all, the boys we wanted to kill. Did or will their hanging deter Indian men from raping, killing or brutalising women? Is capital punishment, abolished in most nations (and retained by 58 countries, with China being the most active death penalty country in the world), more effective in deterring crimes than, say, a life sentence? There are no simple answers to these questions because the death penalty ...

Today on the World and European Day Against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and call for the universal abolition of the death penalty.  We welcome the continued decline in the use of the death penalty, confirming the overall trend towards universal abolition.  In 2019, for a second consecutive year, executions were carried out in only 20 countries around the world. This is a historic low, but it is nonetheless 20 countries too many.  We, therefore, use this occasion to call on all Members of the United Nations to support the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in December 2020. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has dedicated this year to the right to effective legal representation. The violation of this fundamental right disproportionately affects the most vulnerable members of so...

Tomorrow, October 10, is recognised as World Day Against the Death Penalty. It is a useful, indeed, needed reminder of ending of the death penalty. Some 142 countries, representing 74 per cent of the UN member states, have already stopped using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or by not carrying out executions for a long time. Jamaica falls within the second group: Its last execution was in 1988. And the abolitionist trend is continuing, with the number of death sentences and executions also falling. Executions were carried out in 2018 in 20 countries, representing a historic low of only 10 percent of the country total. Human rights group Stand Up for Jamaica (SUFJ) firmly opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment violating the right to life. The death penalty means revenge, not justice, and its abolition contributes to the enhancement of human dignity. This October 10,...