Condemned cells: Adiala housing 364 death-row convicts

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Central Jail, commonly known as Adiala Jail, is currently housing 364 death-row convicts. The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench has decided 45 appeals filed by Adiala Jail’s death-row convicts against their sentences over the last two months. Of them, 35 prisoners’ death sentences have been commuted to life terms while six have been acquitted. The high court upheld death sentences in four cases. Currently, there are 364 death-row inmates in the jail. A total of 278 appeals filed by death-row inmates are pending before the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench while 73 appeals are being heard by the Supreme Court. Mercy pleas by eight convicts are pending with the President. A special division bench is hearing the pleas on a daily basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd,  2016.