Death Penalty News

Florida is scheduled to execute James Robertson at noon on Tuesday, October 13, at Florida State Prison. His execution remains scheduled despite the withdrawal of William Lee Thompson’s death warrant, which had called for a 2nd execution that evening. If completed, this will be Florida’s 17th execution of 2026. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) and partners will be holding a series of vigils and demonstrations across the state. 

Senior Emirati source says Mossad and Israeli aviation experts joined the Abu Dhabi probe alongside Saudi, Omani and US intelligence officials, as investigators examine claims he planned to seize the cockpit and strike Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Towers The man suspected of trying to turn a Flydubai passenger jet into a weapon is expected to face the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates once the investigation is completed, according to a senior Emirati source. But before that happens, investigators in Abu Dhabi will have to answer a far more uncomfortable question: How was Hamam al-Hammami allowed anywhere near a cockpit? 

Ask anybody what a “death sentence” in India actually means, and the honest answer is that it can mean three quite different things. It can mean the noose—hanging by the neck until death; it can mean permanent confinement in jail—a term the courts now call imprisonment for the remainder of one’s natural life, and, far more often than either of the first two, it can simply mean delay in delivery of justice—a death sentence that is neither carried out nor commuted, waiting for completion of investigation, trial before the sessions court, hearing of a confirmation proceeding in a high court, appeal against conviction in the Supreme Court, or hearing of a mercy petition nobody has decided for years, sometimes for decades, until age or illness does what the state never got around to doing itself.

Though many said they supported capital punishment, an almost equal number of people conceded they don't think it deters crime. (CN) — An eye for an eye, say the two-thirds of Americans who support punishing murderers with death, according to research published by Pew on Thursday. A little less than a third of Americans, 32%, oppose capital punishment entirely, standing in line with Gandhi's spin on the age-old aphorism, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” “As the Trump administration and some states seek to expand the application of the death penalty, about two-thirds of Americans (66%) now favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while nearly a third (32%) oppose it,” researchers wrote in the report.

Like Gov. Mike DeWine, most agreed the death penalty is broken and does not deter crime, but not always with the same reasoning. Some people on Ohio’s death row praised Gov. Mike DeWine for having the courage to come out against the death penalty. Others said actions speak louder than words, and they want the governor to commute their death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. But all agreed with the governor on one thing: Ohio’s death penalty law is broken. DeWine said long delays in carrying out executions undermine its intended function as a deterrent. Condemned prisoners resoundingly said that the possibility of being executed never stopped anyone from committing murder.

Ohio’s attorney general says he will continue to uphold the state’s death penalty law, in spite of a call for abolishment of the capital punishment yesterday from Gov. Mike DeWine, who appointed him AG. Andy Wilson said in an interview he respects the opinion of DeWine, who appointed him as AG last month. While DeWine has asked the Ohio legislature to abolish executions for good, Wilson supports the use of capital punishment, as a former prosecutor who tried four death penalty cases. "I believe that the death penalty is a tool that should be available for prosecutors in the criminal justice system in a very limited set of cases when dealing with these most serious crimes," Wilson said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

A 14-year-old in Yunnan province has been convicted of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced to life in prison. The victim's family argue he deserves the death penalty. In late April, an unusual court trial in China's southwestern Yunnan province led to a landmark ruling, where a local court found a minor guilty of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.    At the time of the crime, the defendant was 14 years old. It marked the first time such a severe sentence was handed down to a minor in China.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure that has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane. The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a years-long drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to vote for the bill in person. The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings. It also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges — language that legal experts say effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.

Kyrgyzstan has reaffirmed its commitment to human rights and the rule of law after its Constitutional Court rejected a proposal to reinstate the death penalty, despite strong public outrage following a tragic crime. The proposal emerged after the rape and murder of a young girl in September 2025 sparked nationwide anger and calls for stricter punishment. Responding to public sentiment, President Sadyr Japarov had submitted an amendment seeking to assess whether capital punishment could be reintroduced. However, on December 10, the Constitutional Court ruled that reinstating the death penalty would violate Kyrgyzstan’s international treaty obligations and declared the proposal unconstitutional.

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.

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....

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. Why it mat­ters : Deterrence is among the most com­mon­ly cit­ed jus­ti­fi­ca­tions for the death penal­ty, yet decades of research have failed to pro­duce cred­i­ble evi­dence that use of the death penal­ty has an impact on homicide rates. Key Facts: 88% of the nation’s lead­ing crim­i­nol­o­gists said they did not believe the death penal­ty deters homi­cides. Just 9% agreed that ​“the death penal­ty sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduces the num­ber of homicides.” When states have abol­ished the death penal­ty, mur­der rates have not fol­lowed any con­sis­tent pat­tern of change. Rates in states that for­mer­ly retained the death penal­ty fol­low nation­al trends rather than spik­ing or falling after abolition.

Executions would be reserved for those convicted of certain sexual assaults against children under 13 A pair of Republican state lawmakers wants to bring the death penalty back to Wisconsin for the first time in more than 170 years. It would be reserved for those convicted of certain sexual assaults against children under 13 years old. The bill being introduced by state Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, and state Rep. Elija Behnke, R-Town of Chase, would give prosecutors and judges the option of seeking the death penalty for people convicted of having sexual contact or intercourse with a person under 13 years old and causing great bodily harm. It would also be an option for all people convicted of having sex with a child under the age of 12.

Police observer Poengky Indarti has called for strict criminal sanctions against police personnel involved in drug cases to create a deterrent effect and prevent similar misconduct by other officers.  “The imposition of severe criminal penalties, including the death penalty and life imprisonment, is expected to provide a shock therapy,” she said in Jakarta on Tuesday.  According to Poengky, law enforcement should also apply multiple charges so that perpetrators are not only sentenced to prison terms but also financially impoverished. 

I have seen three executions. I hope I never see a fourth. Capital punishment is violence. But the state does all it can to conceal that fact. The viewing areas outside the death chamber are still and silent. Bright light floods the small room where people die. The warden pronouncing the sentence speaks in clipped, measured tones, saying no more than needed. You’re expected to view the act as a bloodless execution of justice.

Hostages should be given "the honor of pressing the button" to carry out death penalties for Hamas terrorists, former Gaza hostage Eliya Cohen said in an Instagram post on Tuesday, in response to a Hamas statement criticizing Otzma Yehudit's death penalty bill. "Raping, murdering, smashing heads, desecrating bodies, burning babies, kidnapping civilians, and torturing them 24/7, is that not a violation of the international convention?" Cohen wrote.

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.

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." 

Singapore’s death penalty has been in the news again.  Enshrined in law in 1975, a decade after the island split from Malaysia and became an independent state, the penalty can see people sentenced to hang for drug trafficking, murder or firearms offenses, among other crimes. Executions have often involved trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act, with offenses measured in grams.  Those executed have included people from low-income backgrounds and foreign nationals who are sometimes not fluent in English, according to human rights advocates such as Amnesty International and the International Drug Policy Consortium.