Death Penalty

An 88-year-old man who spent nearly 50 years on death row has been acquitted in Japan. Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1968 after being convicted of murder and arson in connection with the killing of his boss and his boss's family two years previously.

Missouri has executed a convicted murderer who maintained his innocence for more than two decades, despite last-minute appeals from both defence and prosecution lawyers for a delay. Marcellus Williams, 55, was already serving a lengthy prison sentence for burglary offences when he was convicted in 2

A total of 1,153 executions took place around the world in 2023 — excluding China — marking an increase of more than 30 per cent from 2022. It was the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International since 2015, when 1,634 people were known to have been executed. Despite this increase, t

Alabama is to test a controversial new method of execution on a death row prisoner who previously survived a botched lethal injection. Kenneth Smith, 58, was sentenced to death after being convicted, along with a co-defendant, for his role in the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.

Singapore has executed an intellectually disabled man for smuggling heroin over a decade ago. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a 34-year-old Malaysian who had an IQ of 69, was hanged yesterday despite a widespread plea for clemency.

The Saudi Human Rights Commission has announced that, following a royal decree, the sentences of all people convicted of childhood crimes will be reviewed. According to a new Royal Order, all authorities must suspend the application of the death penalty for those convicted while they were minors, pe

A prisoner with learning disabilities who spent 40 years on death row, including 16 in solitary confinement, has been granted parole in Texas, The Times reports. Bobby Moore, 60, was sentenced to death in 1980 for killing a supermarket worker in a robbery in Houston.

A drug trafficker has been sentenced to death in Singapore in a remote court hearing held using Zoom. Malaysian national Punithan Genasan, 37, was convicted on Friday of complicity in heroin trafficking in 2011.

Saudi Arabia has carried out its 800th execution since the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz began five years ago. Human rights group Reprieve said the rate of executions has doubled under King Salman's rule, despite Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman insisting the kingdom intends to "minimise" the n

The governor of California has announced an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in the US state. Governor Gavin Newsom, who was sworn in at the start of the year, will today sign an executive order granting a reprieve to prisoners on death row and closing down the execution chamber