International Death Penalty News 2023, Issue 29: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States of America

China

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, 40-year-old Wang Yun was executed. Wang, a kindergarten teacher was sentenced to death for poisoning 25 of her students on March 27, 2019. One student became seriously ill, requiring 10 months of treatment before dying of multiple organ failure from the poison. Wang’s method of execution is unknown, although China usually carries out executions with a gunshot to the back of the head. China does not publicly announce all executions, with most being carried out in secret. It is believed that China executes more people per a year than the rest of the world combined.

Iran

According to official sources, an unnamed man was executed on an unspecified date in Dezful Prison. The man was convicted of rape during a robbery.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, Musa Shah Bakhsh was executed in Zahedan Central Prison. He was a Baluch ethnic minority. His crime was not reported.

On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, six prisoners were executed in three prisons. Five were executed in Gohardasht prison, including a female inmate named Fatemeh Yusufabadi. The other four were not named. Hamed Hosseinpour was executed in Maku Prison. All were likely executed by hanging.

On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, Hossein Ali Zarouni was executed in Ilam Central Prison. Executions are traditionally carried out by hanging. Hossein, a bank worker before his arrest, was convicted of murdering his sister’s husband. He also killed two policemen as he attempted to escape. His execution has not yet been announced by the media or state officials.

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, 39-year-old Mohammad Ghaedi Nasab and 26-year-old Sadegh Mahmoudi Baram were executed by public hanging. The two men were convicted of murdering a State Security Force agnate and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. The murder occurred during a robbery on November 18, 2021. Mohammad’s confession to the crime was aired after his execution.

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, 35-year-old Mehdi Shariati, 50-year-old Rashid Dahmardeh, and 33-year-old Saman Salari were executed in Jiroft prison. Rashid, an ethnic Baluch minority, was convicted and executed on drug-related charges. Mehdi and Saman, Jiroft natives, were convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. State officials and the media have not yet reported the executions.

On Monday, July 17, 2023, Sangar Khezri was executed in Naghdeh Prison. The execution was likely carried out by hanging. Sangar was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

On Monday, July 17, 2023, 40-year-ol dFaramarz Nezami and Asghar Rahimian were executed in Zanjan Central Prison. Both men were convicted and executed on drug-related charges. State officials and the media have not yet reported the executions.

On Monday, July 17, 2023, Jahedollah Marouf was executed in Isfahan Central Prison. Jahedollah, an Afghan national, was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges. He was also convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. It is unclear for which charge he was executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 35-year-old Ahmad Moghadam and 40-year-old Saeed Almasi were executed in Hamedan Central Prison. Both men were convicted on drug-related charges. Their executions have not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 50-year-old Habibollah Ilkhani was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison. Habibollah, a former teacher, was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. He alleges that the murder was an honor killing.

Saudi Arabia

On Sunday, July 16, 2023, Ali bin Saleh bin Ahmed Al Jumaa and Muslim bin Hussein bin Hassan Al Abu Shaheen were executed by beheading. Both men were Saudi nationals. They were convicted and executed for shooting a policeman and a security vehicle. The shooting occurred as they were covering for other armed suspects.

United States of America

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, Michael Webb was scheduled to be executed in Ohio. Michael died on death row on May 2, 2023, in Ohio while awaiting his execution. He was 73 years old. He was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his three-year-old son Michael Patrick Webb in Goshen, Ohio. 
https://theforgivenessfoundation.org/2023/06/19/michael-webb-dies-on-ohio-death-row-before-july-19-2023-execution/

On Thursday, July 20, 2023, Oklahoma executed Jemaine Cannon. He was convicted of murdering Sharonda White Clark on February 3, 1995, in her Tulsa, Oklahoma apartment.

On Thursday, July 20, 2023, Alabama executed James Barber. He was 64 years of age. James was executed for murdering 75-year-old Dorothy Epps in late-May 2002, in Harvest, Alabama.

A Texas jury decided that Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles will spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors were seeking a death sentence. Burgos-Aviles, a former member of the US Navy, was convicted of murdering his 27-year-old mistress Grizelda Hernandez and their one-year-old child Dominic on April 9, 2018, in Laredo, Texas.  Burgos-Aviles was married at the time he was having an affair with Grizelda.  He became angry when he was served child support paperwork and decided to murder Grizelda and Dominic. 

On Thursday, July 15, 2023, two Democratic senators introduced a bill that would ban the death penalty at the federal level. The bill would also require those on federal death row to be resentenced. It is unlikely that the bill will pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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