 Can a pregnant woman get death sentence in India? If a woman's sentence to death is found to be pregnant, the court shall order the execution of the sentence to be postponed or it may even commute the sentence to life imprisonment. Here, you should also know about one of the clemency powers conferred upon the President and the Governors which is respite. Respite means awarding a lesser sentence in place of one that was originally awarded. For example, the death penalty may be reduced to life imprisonment. But this can happen only under certain circumstances, if the convict is physically disabled or if the convict is pregnant. A quick mnemonic to remember the fact, respite for special cases. Both has S and P in them. That's my time. Thank you.