International Death Penalty News 2024, Issue 33: China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States of America

China

On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, Li Zaiyong, a former senior political adviser, was sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve.  Li is convicted of accepting bribes worth over $60 million.  The ill-gotten funds will be turned over to the State treasury.    Li used his position of power and authority to elicit bribes.  After his arrest, in which he surrendered to the police, Li agreed to cooperate with the police in investigating others in exchange for a lighter sentence.

India

On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 34-year-old Umendra Kevat was sentenced to death.  He is convicted of murdering 32-year-old wife Sukrita, and their three children, five-year-old daughter Khushi, three-year-old daughter Lisa, and 18-month-old Pawan.  Umendra suspected his wife was cheating on him.  They had been married since 2017 and Umendra has been violent in the past.  Sukrita was strangled to death by a rope.  That same rope was then used to also kill the children.  After killing his family, Umendra attempted to also hang himself, however, the rope broke under his weight.  

Iran

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, Mohammad Ghorbani was executed in Qazvin Central Prison.  His identity has only recently been established, although his execution has not yet been announced by state officials or the media.  After his arrest about three years ago, Ghorbani was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are considered “intentional murder.”  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses between granting forgiveness to the convicted, demanding diya (blood money), or demanding the accused be sentenced to qisas.  Circumstances and other mitigating evidence are rarely considered.  

On Sunday, August 4, 2024, Mehdi Hosseini and Amir Tasbihi were executed in Arak Central Prison.  Both men were convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  Neither execution has yet been reported by state officials and the media.  

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, Hossein Hatami, Naser Geravand, Milad Hadipour, and Shirzad Reshadat were executed in Khorramabad Central Prison.  Hatami and Geravand were executed on drug-related charges.  Hadipour and Reshadat were convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas in the same case about three years ago.  State officials and the media have not yet reported their executions.  

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, 35-year-old Davoud Zahrabi was executed in Isfahan Central Prison.  He was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, 30-year-old Mehdi Dehdari was executed in Shiraz Central Prison.  Dehdari was arrested about two years ago and convicted of murder.  He was then sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are considered “intentional murder.”  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses between granting forgiveness to the convicted, demanding diya (blood money), or demanding the accused be sentenced to qisas.  Circumstances and other mitigating evidence are rarely considered.  His execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Monday, August 12, 2024, four men were executed in Tabriz Central Prison.  Two of the men have been identified as 44-year-old Mohammad Ansari Gheshlagh and 32-year-old Ali Mehdian, while the other two men were only identified as Afghan nationals.  Gheshlagh was convicted of committing murder during a fight about four years ago.  Mehdian was convicted of murdering another individual after a dispute about a financial issue about three years ago.  The other two men were also convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas.  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses between granting forgiveness to the convicted, demanding diya (blood money), or demanding the accused be sentenced to qisas.  Circumstances and other mitigating evidence are rarely considered. None of the four executions have yet been reported by state officials or the media.  

On Monday, August 12, 2024, two men were executed in Khorramabad Central Prison.  One of the men has been identified as 29-year-old Ayat Biranvand, while the identity of the second man has not yet been reported.  Both men were convicted of murder, with Biranvand convicted of murdering his cousin five years ago.  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses between granting forgiveness to the convicted, demanding diya (blood money), or demanding the accused be sentenced to qisas.  Circumstances and other mitigating evidence are rarely considered.  State officials and the media have not yet reported the executions.

On Tuesday, August 13, 2024,  an unnamed man was executed in Rafsanjan Prison.  The man was identified as an Afghan national who was convicted of murdering six other Afghan nationals and four Rafsanjan residents on August 7, 2022.  The unnamed man then attempted to commit suicide, however, police located him and were able to get him medical attention.  Some reports indicate that he was suffering from a mental disorder.

On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 47-year-old Farajollah Khashi, a Baluch ethnic minority, was executed in Kerman Central Prison.  He was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  Allegedly, Khashi was traveling with a friend when they were stopped and drugs were discovered in the car.  Khashi alleges he did not know about the drugs.  Additionally, Khashi allegedly had ongoing appeals at the date of his execution.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, 31-year-old Reza Zardkouhi and 25-year-old Mousa-alreza Ebrahimi were executed in Sabzevar Prison.  Both men were convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  State officials and the media have not yet reported their executions.

Saudi Arabia

The death sentence for 55-year-old Mohammed Al-Ghamdi has been overturned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Court of Appeals.  Before his arrest and imprisonment, Mohammed worked as a teacher.  He was arrested in July 2022, for using Twitter (now X) to criticize corruption and to raise awareness about human rights.  He was convicted and sentenced to death on July 9, 2023.  His family and lawyers are now also seeking to have his conviction thrown out and to have him released from prison.

United States of America

On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Kris Maharaj died while in a prison hospital in Florida.  He was 85 years of age.  Maharaj, originally from Trinidad before moving to England, was sentenced to death in 1986, after being convicted of murdering Derrick Moo Young and his son Duane, who allegedly stole money from Pablo Escobar, a notorious drug lord.  Maharaj’s death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2002.  In 2019, a judge ruled that lawyers, with the assistance of the anti-death penalty group Reprieve, had proved that Maharaj was innocent.  A US Court of Appeals, however, ruled the evidence was insufficient to prove innocence and denied his request to be released.  Maharaj’s family is seeking to have his body retired to England for burial.

On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Florida death row inmate Nelson Serrano reportedly died in a hospital.  He was 85 years of age and had spent over 30 years on death row for a crime he insisted he did not commit.  He had been in the hospital for some time with a terminal condition.  Serrano was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves in Bartow, Florida on December 3, 1997.  In 2017, Serrano was granted a new penalty phase trial.  He was awaiting that trial when he died.

The Alabama Supreme Court has approved the request to set an execution date for Carey Dal Grayson.  Grayson is one of four teenagers convicted of murdering Vickie Deblieux in 1994, in Jefferson County, Alabama. The current plan is to execute Grayson using nitrogen gas, which was first used in an execution in Alabama earlier this year.  Grayson is attempting to prevent the state from using nitrogen gas to execute him.  Alabama Governor Kay Ivey will soon set an execution date for Grayson.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 in favor of recommending that 52-year-old Emmanuel Littllejohn’s life be spared.  That recommendation now goes to the desk of Governor Kevin Stitt, who has only granted clemency once, despite the Board recommending it in three additional cases.  In the past, Governor Stitt has spent time reviewing the case before making a decision.  Littlejohn is convicted of murdering 31-year-old Kenneth Meers in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Littlejohn has denied committing the murder, insisting it was his co-conspirator in the robbery and murder.