Death sentence

US court upholds death sentence for Tongan inmate on death row

The decision came after the protest of two justices that the trial judge prejudicially erred in disallowing testimony at the penalty phase of an eyewitness who recalls the shooter as being slim, which fits the description of the codefendant, while the appellant weighs in excess of 300 pounds.

Australian sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling

The man was named in Australian media as Karm or Cam Gilespie.

He is believed to have been arrested at an airport in 2013 with 7.5kg (16 Ibs) of methamphetamine, also known as ice, in his luggage, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reports.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was "deeply saddened to hear of the verdict".

Saudis sentence five to death for journalist's murder

Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi government, was killed inside the kingdom's consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul by a team of Saudi agents.

The Saudi authorities said it was the result of a "rogue operation" and put 11 unnamed individuals on trial.

A UN expert said the trial represented "the antithesis of justice".

"Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death. The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial," Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard wrote on Twitter.

     

Pakistan ex-leader sentenced to death for treason

Such a verdict is a first in a country with a history of army rule. The military reacted angrily, saying legal process "seems to have been ignored".

The general seized power in a 1999 coup and was president from 2001 to 2008.

The penalty is unlikely to be carried out. Gen Musharraf was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 and is in Dubai.

The high treason charge has been pending since 2013. It relates to Gen Musharraf's suspension of the constitution in 2007, when he declared an emergency in a move intended to extend his tenure.

Turkish women sentenced to death in Iraq for IS links

Some reports say 16 women were handed the death penalty, while others say one was jailed for life.

The women confessed to marrying IS fighters or providing the group "with logistical aid or helping them carry out terrorist attacks", the judge said.

Thousands of foreigners have fought and died for IS in Iraq and Syria.

The Iraqi government declared its war against the group over in December. While IS has been driven from its major strongholds, militants have continued to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks.

Death sentences upheld against men who fatally gang raped woman in India

  The crime sparked widespread protests and drew international attention to violence against women.

Applause broke out in court on Friday among relatives of the victim — whose identity is protected by law — as judges explained the crime met the "rarest of the rare" standard required to justify capital punishment in India.

"It's a barbaric crime and it has shaken the society's conscience," Justice R Banumathi said, as a three-judge Supreme Court panel threw out an appeal on behalf of the defendants.

Spared death in 2008, man loses appeal in child rape case

Patrick Kennedy was spared from execution in 2008 but remained convicted in the 1998 rape of an 8-year-old. He is serving a life sentence.

In 2013, a federal judge in New Orleans agreed with defense lawyers who said there had been gender discrimination in the selection of grand jury leaders at the time Kennedy was indicted.

But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in a decision released Wednesday evening.