A Second Look at Death Row: What Act 847 Resentencing Did, and Where It Stops

Between 14 November 2023 and 29 October 2024 the Federal Court worked through more than a thousand applications from prisoners who had been sentenced, under the old law, to death or to imprisonment for natural life. By the end most of those death sentences had been replaced with long prison terms, and the death-row population had fallen from 1,275 in January 2024 to 140 on 1 January 2025.

The exercise was made possible by a temporary statute, Act 847. On 12 November 2025 a five-judge Federal Court marked one of its outer limits. This article explains both.

Two statutes passed in 2023

The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Act 846) was gazetted on 30 June 2023 and came into force on 4 July 2023. It ended the rule that certain offences must be punished with death. Murder under section 302 of the Penal Code is the clearest example: the sentence is now death, or imprisonment for not less than 30 and not more than 40 years, and a person who is not sentenced to death must also receive not less than 12 strokes of whipping.

That reform looked forward. It did nothing for prisoners whose cases were already over. The Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 (Act 847) filled the gap. According to published accounts, it received royal assent on 9 June 2023, was gazetted on 16 June 2023 and came into force on 12 September 2023.

How an application worked

As summarised in published accounts of the Act, prisoners had 90 days from commencement, to 10 December 2023, in which to apply, and the period could be extended. Each prisoner could apply only once. The Federal Court’s task was confined to sentence, and the conviction was left untouched. A death sentence could be kept or replaced with imprisonment, and imprisonment for natural life could be replaced with a term of 30 to 40 years.

The results in figures

Published figures record 1,056 applications: 936 from prisoners under sentence of death and 120 from prisoners serving natural life. The first hearing was on 14 November 2023 and the process was completed on 29 October 2024. About 860 death sentences were commuted to imprisonment. About 50 were upheld, on published figures, which differ slightly, and a small number of applications were struck out administratively. A ministerial written reply reported by Malay Mail put the number of commutations under Act 847 between 1 January and 14 October 2024 alone at 814.

The figures carry two messages. The exercise was not a formality in either direction: the great majority of death sentences were replaced, but some were confirmed. And the death penalty remains part of Malaysian law as a discretionary sentence.

The limit drawn on 12 November 2025

Some prisoners had already left death row through a different door: the prerogative of mercy, exercised on the advice of a Pardons Board under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution. Could they also use Act 847, for instance to change the date from which their substituted sentence runs?

The Federal Court answered no. The bench comprised Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, President of the Court of Appeal Abu Bakar Jais, Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Azizah Nawawi and Justice Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali. Ruling on the prosecution’s review application in three prisoners’ cases, the court held that prisoners whose death sentences had been commuted by a Pardons Board cannot use Act 847 to alter the commencement date fixed by the Board. It reaffirmed the long-standing position that the prerogative power exercised through a Pardons Board is non-justiciable, meaning that the courts will not review it. We have not found a law report citation for the decision, and this account rests on Bernama’s report.

Two routes off death row, and why they do not mix

Resentencing under Act 847 and a commutation by a Pardons Board can produce a similar result, but they are legally different. Resentencing is a judicial act, carried out within limits set by Parliament. Clemency is an act of mercy, and the terms on which it is granted, including when a substituted sentence starts, belong to the Pardons Board. On the Federal Court’s ruling, a prisoner cannot combine the two by asking a court to adjust what the Board decided.

A wider question, how far the courts may examine the process of a Pardons Board as opposed to its decision, is before the Court of Appeal in a separate matter brought by the Malaysian Bar, in which judgment was reserved on 31 July 2026. We express no view on it.

Takeaways for prisoners’ families and the public

• Act 847 dealt with sentence only. It was never a second appeal against conviction.

• Each prisoner had a single application, and the exercise was completed on 29 October 2024.

• A sentence commuted by a Pardons Board stands on the Board’s terms and cannot be adjusted through Act 847.

• The death penalty has not been abolished. Courts now choose between death and a long prison term, and about 50 death sentences were upheld on review.

• Clemency under Article 42 remains a separate avenue, governed by its own rules.

Status as at 19 September 2026

The statutory exercise is complete, although related litigation may continue; readers with a specific case should check its current position.

Authorities and sources

• Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 (Act 847)

• Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Act 846); Penal Code, section 302; Federal Constitution, Article 42

• Federal Court ruling of 12 November 2025 (five-judge bench), as reported by Bernama, 12 November 2025; no law report citation found

• Malay Mail, 3 July 2023, 11 September 2023, 6 November 2024 and 5 April 2025; The Star, 31 July 2026

This article is general legal information only and is current as at 19 September 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Court decisions may be appealed and the law may change; please seek advice on your own circumstances. — Chris & Partners, Advocates & Solicitors