International Death Penalty News 2025, Issue 11: India, Iran, Philippines, United States of America

India

Local lawmakers in Madhya Pradesh state, home to 72 million individuals, are considering a law that makes it punishable by death to force a person into religious conversion. Christian leaders oppose this proposed law, worried that it will harm Christians, who already face false accusations and persecution. Hindu is the predominant religion in India and many states in recent years have criminalized forced conversions, however, enforcement of the laws seems to primarily target converts to the Christian faith, with hundreds, if not thousands of Christian leaders being arrested and imprisoned under these laws. The Indian constitution does permit religious freedom, however, these laws appear to be a way around that constitutional right.

On Monday, March 10, 2025, Subhash Sharma was sentenced to death by a special court in Nalgonda. Sharma was convicted of murdering Perumalla Pranay Kumar in Miryalaguda on September 14, 2018. Perumalla was murdered with a machete while walking home from a private hospital with his five-month pregnant wife and his mother. The murder was believed to be orchestrated by his wife’s father, who did not approve of the marriage as Perumalla was from a lower caste. Eight men were arrested for the murder. One has since committed suicide. The six others were fined and sentenced to life in prison.

Iran

On February 20, 2025, 29-year-old Hossein Khalifeyi and 35-year-old Alimorad Taheri were executed by hanging in Bushehr Central Prison. They were arrested and convicted in separate murder cases and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. Their executions have not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On February 27, 2025,  Ali Vatankhah was executed by hanging in Ardabil Central Prison. He was convicted of murdering another person during a group fight about three years ago. Ali was sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. His family was informed of his pending execution and had a final visit shortly before his sentence was carried out. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Saturday, March 1, 2025, 29-year-old Nasrin Barani was executed in Isfahan Central Prison. She is the fifth recorded woman to be executed in Iran so far this year. Nasrin was convicted of murdering her ex-husband and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported her execution.

On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 28-year-old Saeed Karimkhani Alghalandis was executed by hanging in Tabriz Central Prison. Saeed was arrested about three years ago. He was convicted of murdering four people, one in a house and three others in an orchard. After conviction, he was sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported the execution.

On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, Jalal Ashkani was executed in Hamedan Central Prison. Executions are traditionally carried out by hanging. He was arrested about four years ago on drug-related charges and sentenced to death. His execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Thursday, March 6, 2025, 35-year-old Kamran Mousavi was executed by hanging in Kashan Prison. Kamran was arrested about three years ago and convicted of murder, which he claimed was an honor killing. He was convicted and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported the execution.

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, 31-year-old Houshang Mohammadkhani was executed by hanging in Yazd Central Prison. He was convicted and sentenced to death for possessing 70 kilograms of shisheh (methamphetamines) and heroin. His family was not informed of the execution, preventing them from having a final visit. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, 37-year-old Mohamamd Javad (Afshin) Hassanvand and 27-year-old Abid Maleki were executed by hanging in Khorramabad Central Prison. Mohamamd, a former traffic officer, was arrested six years ago for murdering two people. Abid was arrested four years ago for murder. Both men were convicted and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. Their executions have not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Sunday, March 9, 2025, 30-year-old Ahmad Saeedi was executed in Zanjan Central Prison. He worked in construction before his arrest about two years ago. He was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Sunday, March 9, 2024, 40-year-old Amin Khosravi was executed in Neishabur Prison. He was arrested about three years ago, convicted, and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported the execution.

On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Hojat Torkaman was executed in Malayer Prison. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas. Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional murder, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the family of the deceased chooses between granting forgiveness or demanding qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the condemned cannot pay, they are often executed. His execution has not yet been reported by state officials and the media.

Philippines

On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested for crimes against humanity. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court. The court has been investigating Duterte and other top officials who worked in his administration, over allegations of “systematic drug war deaths in police operations.” A reported 6,000 individuals were killed based on police records, however, human rights groups allege that as many as 30,000 individuals were killed due to vigilante killings. During his presidency, Duterte sought to crack down on drugs in the nation. Duterte will be taken and held in the detention center in The Hague, Netherlands, where his trial will also take place. The International Criminal Court is against the death penalty, and the maximum penalty Duterte can receive is 30 years in prison, however, in extreme cases, a life sentence can be ordered.

United States of America

On Thursday, March 13, 2025, David Wood was scheduled to be executed in Texas. His execution was stayed. David is convicted of murdering 23-year-old Ivy Williams, 15-year-old Desiree Wheatley, 20-year-old Karen Baker, 17-year-old Angelica Frausto, 24-year-old Rosa Casio, and 14-year-old Dawn Smith between May and August of 1987, in El Paso County, Texas.

Lawmakers in the Arkansas House of Representatives and Senate have approved a bill permitting execution by nitrogen gas. The bill is now on the desk of Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee. If signed, Arkansas would be the fifth state in the nation to authorize nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution. So far, Alabama is the only state to carry out executions using this method. There are currently 25 inmates on death row in Arkansas, with 11 inmates having completed all their appeals. The last execution in the state occurred in 2017.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Brad Little, governor of Idaho signed a bid into law that makes the firing squad the primary method of execution in the state. While four other states – Utah, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Mississippi – allow for execution by firing squad, Idaho is the first state to make it the primary method of execution. In recent years, many states have begun looking to alternative methods of execution to lethal injection. Drugs for lethal injections are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. There are currently eight men and one woman on death row in Idaho and the last execution was carried out in 2012. The state attempted to execute Thomas Creech in 2024 but was unable to establish the necessary IV lines.

The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the death sentence of 52-year-old Texas inmate Brittany Holberg. Holberg, a former prostitute and drug addict, was sentenced to death in 1998, for murdering a client. She had crashed her car while high and sought refuge at the apartment of one of her clients. The two got into a violent fight, in which Holberg claims she killed him in self-defense. The prosecution’s star witness was a jailhouse informant who was paid for her testimony and had several charges against her dropped in exchange for her testimony. However, Holberg and her defense team were not informed about the favors being granted to the witness. Additionally, the testimony provided by the witness was exactly what the prosecutors wanted and lined up with all police evidence in the case. The law requires that prosecutors must provide the defense with any evidence gathered that would be favorable to their case, which they did not do by failing to inform the defense of the deal the informant was receiving. It is unclear at this time if Holberg will be retried.

In March 2021, Robert Aaron Long opened fire at several spas in Atlanta, Georgia, killing eight women. He confessed and pled guilty to four of the murders, resulting in a sentence of life in prison, without the possibility of parole. However, Long pled not guilty to four other murders, all Asian women. In addition to murder charges, he also faces hate crime charges, which could result in a death sentence if convicted. Most recently, his attorneys attempted to argue that his confession shortly after his arrest should not be used against him because he did not have legal representation at the time. Fulton County Chief Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville has ruled that the statements are admissible at trial. Before his questioning by police, Long had been read his Miranda rights and waived them.

Prosecutors in Monroe County, Florida are seeking the death penalty against 36-year-old Micheal John Demerjian. Demerjian is accused of raping his three-year-old daughter dozens of times and recording the events on his phone. In 2023, Florida legislatures passed a law, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law, that allows those convicted of sexual battery of a child under the age of 12 to be eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors in Mississippi are seeking the death penalty against 39-year-old Darold Sim Payne. Payne is accused of beating his parents, 86-year-old Harold Payne and 72-year-old Jittuan Payne to death with a cinderblock on March 5, 2025. He lived with his parents at the time of the murder. At this time, Payne’s motive for murder has not yet been released. His trial date has not yet been set. Payen is currently in prison.

On Monday, March 10, 2025, Eriese Alfonso Tisdale was resentenced to death in Florida. Tisdale is convicted of murdering St. Lucie County Sergeant  Gary Morales during a traffic stop in 2013. Tisdale was initially sentenced to death in 2016. That sentence was overturned due to changes in Florida’s death penalty laws. However, at a retrial in September 2024, a jury recommended 9-3 that he be resentenced to death. Now, a judge has confirmed the jury’s recommendation.

In 2023, Theodore Bland, now 29 years of age, shot and killed two Massachusetts men – 21-year-old Jahim Solomon and 21-year-old Eric White – in Vermont. He is facing federal charges that could result in a death sentence if convicted. Bland is also facing firearms and drug-related charges. Prosecutors have not yet announced if they will seek the death penalty against Bland, however, newly confirmed US Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed federal prosecutors to seek defat sentences in violent federal cases.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, prosecutors in Oklahoma filed paperwork seeking the death penalty against 42-year-old Richard Chambers. Chambers is accused of murdering Annie Brown in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and Robert and Jacki Peliti in their Allen, Oklahoma home. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty due to the brutal nature of the multiple murders.

State Representative Russ Diamond in Pennsylvania has introduced legislation to eliminate the death penalty in the state. His legislation is supported by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who refuses to sign any execution warrants during his term and previously sought to have the death penalty abolished in the state. There are currently 94 individuals on death row in Pennsylvania, with only three executions having been carried out since 1978. The last execution occurred in 1999. There are death penalty cases ongoing in the state.

Seifullah Abdul-Salaam was sentenced to death in Pennsylvania after being convicted of murdering New Cumberland Police Officer Willis Cole in 1994. The murder was committed while robbing a store. However, in 2018, the US Court of Appeals ordered that he be given a new sentencing trial. Jury selection has now begun for the sentencing trial, where prosecutors are again seeing a death sentence. No execution has been carried out in the state of Pennsylvania since 1999 and only three executions have occurred since 1978. Currently, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has stated that he will not sign any death warrants while in office.

Prosecutors in Arizona have unexpectedly, and without giving a reason, announced they would not be seeking a death sentence against Germayne and Lisa Cunningham, who are accused of murdering Germayne’s seven-year-old daughter, Sanaa. Lisa was her stepmother. Germayne had worked for the police department for 12 years before resigning during a police investigation. Sanaa was murdered six years ago and until recently, prosecutors indicated they would pursue capital punishment.

Niko Jenkins, a death row inmate in Nebraska, is seeking to drop his appeals and to have his execution scheduled. His attorney claims that Jenkins is mentally ill and is ineligible to be executed. Jenkins was sentenced to death by a three-judge panel in 2017, after a jury convicted him of murdering four people over 10 days in August 2013. The murders occurred days after Jenkins was released from prison, where he was serving 10 years for carjacking and assault. Nebraska last carried out an execution in 2018.