Death penalty

UN experts demand answers as Iran continues to cloud the truth on violent protest crackdown

UN human rights experts demand that Iran reveal the fates of detainees, stop executions, and provide accountability amidst the brutal crackdown on protesters in recent months.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A woman holds a placard during a demonstration in solidarity with protestors living in Iran, in Israel's central city of Holon on January 24, 2026.
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with fire from a burning picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran, in London, Britain, January 12, 2026.

Iran's death penalty crackdown on protesters targets minors, Amnesty International warns

Amnesty International revealed that two 17-year-olds are among those at risk of being sentenced to death in Iran for involvement in January’s protests, calling for an immediate halt to the executions

|BySHOSHANA BAKER
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir during a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on November 10, 2025.

Israel should enact the Ben-Gvir death penalty law - opinion

Murder rates continue to rise, not just since the October 7 massacre, and Israel cannot afford to be lenient if it wishes to survive.

|ByALEX STERNBERG
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, November 17, 2025

Israel’s perilous death penalty bill also endangers Diaspora Jews - opinion

Diaspora Jews cannot stay silent as Israel debates executing terrorists, as the bill endangers not only Israel’s moral fabric but also Jewish safety worldwide.

|ByMICHAEL J. ZOOSMAN

Iranian protester faces execution for murder blamed on gov't

The incident took place amid the widespread protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in the hospital after being arrested by the country’s morality police.

DECEMBER 25, 2023ByLEON KRAIEM
Iranian women chant during a protest condemning the Shiraz attack and unrest in Tehran, Iran October 28, 2022.

Death penalty for terrorists harms Gaza hostages, families tell Knesset

"The debate on the death penalty for terrorists is a mental terror attack, a flammable that risks the lives of kidnapped children," said representative Noam Dan.

NOVEMBER 20, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
Israelis whose family members are being held abducted by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since Oct 7, react as they attend a National Security committee meeting in the Israeli parliament on November 20, 2023

Terrorist death penalty debate risks hostages, families charge Otzma Yehudit

"Stop talking about killing Arabs, start talking about saving Jews," the father of a hostage told MK Almog Cohen.

NOVEMBER 20, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
MK Almog Cohen seen shouting at hostages' families during a National Security Committee discussion on November 20, 2023

Indians accused of spying for Israel in Qatar given death penalty

Neither New Delhi nor Doha has officially stated the charges against the eight who were arrested in August 2022.

OCTOBER 27, 2023ByREUTERS
General overall view of the Doha downtown city center skyline and cityscape and the Doha Bay, Doha, Qatar, Sep 26, 2019.

Tehran attacks 'anti-Iranian' move to award jailed activist Nobel Peace Prize

Mohammedi, a campaigner for women's rights and against the death penalty, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence

OCTOBER 6, 2023ByREUTERS
Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen announces the winner of Nobel Peace Prize for 2023.

As execution day nears, advocates for Texas Jew on death row say hopes are dimming

The inmate, Jedidiah Murphy, killed 79-year-old Bertie Lee Cunningham during a carjacking in 2000 in Dallas County.

OCTOBER 6, 2023ByRON KAMPEAS/JTA
Reverend Sylvester Edwards, President of the Terre Haute NAACP, stands near the Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute, to express his opposition to the death penalty and execution of Daniel Lewis Lee. July 13, 2020

Judge to pronounce death sentence for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter after jury vote

The sentencing hearing comes a day after a jury unanimously voted for the death penalty after finding Bowers guilty on 63 counts.

AUGUST 3, 2023ByREUTERS
This image widely distributed by US media on October 27, 2018 shows a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) ID picture of Robert Bowers

Jury demands to see guns of Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

It’s not clear why the jury wanted to see the weapons, but in weighing a death sentence, one of the statutory aggravating factors jurors must consider is the risk the gunman’s attack posed to others.

AUGUST 1, 2023ByRON KAMPEAS/JTA
A GROWING series of violent attacks on Jewish facilities began at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, in October 2018.

Pittsburgh jury finds synagogue attacker eligible for death penalty

Federal prosecutors charged Bowers with 63 counts, including 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

JULY 13, 2023ByREUTERS
Police officers guard the Tree of Life synagogue following Saturday's shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 28, 2018.

3 reasons why Tree of Life shooter Robert Bowers shouldn't be executed - opinion

Robert Bowers was found guilty of murdering 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue and is facing the death penalty. Here are three reasons why he shouldn't be executed

JUNE 22, 2023BySHIRA HOFFER
A CROWD attends a vigil outside the Tree of Life synagogue, marking one week after the deadly shooting there, in Pittsburgh, in 2018.