Clarence Hill, a convicted killer who argued that Florida's use of lethal injection amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, was put to death after the US Supreme Court narrowly denied him another stay. Hill, 48, was executed for the 1982 murder of a Pensacola police officer in a savings and loan robbery. He did not reply when asked if he had a last statement, staring straight at the ceiling.

three Indonesian Catholics imprisoned in Palu, province of central Sulawesi, will not be executed at least until tomorrow. “The execution will take place on Friday in the early hours,” (Palu time), said Fr Jimmy Tumbeleka, the spiritual director of the three condemned men, who has accompanied them throughout their detention.

For Marco Pannella, President of Hands Off Cain, the organisation’s Secretary Sergio D’Elia and Treasurer Elisabetta Zamparutti, the statement, “We are against the death penalty”, contained in Prime Minster Romano Prodi’s speech at the UN General Assembly, is the government’s way of preparing itself to do less than Berlusconi’s government did in 2003.

“Yesterday and today, we brought up the issue of the death penalty with various members of the government of the People's Republic of China, hoping for a commitment in the reduction of crimes for which it is applicable,” stated Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Gianni Vernetti, Senator of the Olive Branch Coalition, visiting Beijing together with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

two Iraqi’s who attempted to bomb the South Korean military facilities in Iraq were sentenced to death.

Saudi Arabia beheaded a Bangladeshi man convicted of murdering an Egyptian, the Interior Ministry said.

“We have commenced a structured dialogue with China on human rights issues,” stated Italy’s Prime Minister Romano Prodi after meeting his Chinese counterpart Wen Jabao in Beijing. “Dialogue is an important instrument for strengthening the preservation of the right to information, the right to expression and the freedom of religion,” stated Prodi.

three Indonesian Christian militants convicted of leading a mob that killed Muslims will be executed on September 21, the convicts' lawyer said, but there was no immediate word on the fate of their clemency appeals.

pro-Taliban militants executed a tribesman in a restive Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan after convicting him of double murder, officials and witnesses said.

Shahla Jahed, 36, was once again facing imminent execution, after the Supreme Court reportedly upheld her death sentence for the second time.

the military court sitting in Bukavu, DRC, sentenced three soldiers to capital punishment.