The number of prisoners on death row inAndhra Pradeshat the end of 2021 stood at 14, the highest in the past few years. Andhra Pradesh stood fourth in the country for maximum number of death sentences (13) awarded in 2021.
The Death Penalty in India report states that the number of prisoners on death row at the end of 2021 stood at 488 in the country, the highest in 17 years. It adds that 2021 saw the highest number of prisoners on death row since 2016. This number (488) was an increase of nearly 21 per cent from 2020.
Five states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha awarded the highest numbers of death sentences in 2021.
Of the 13 persons who were awarded the death sentence in Andhra Pradesh in 2021, 12 were members of a gang involved in highway murders.
The report stated that sessions courts in Andhra Pradesh imposed one death sentence in 2017, four in 2018 and three in 2020.