Executions and Stays 2018

62 execution dates were scheduled in 11 states in 2018.
There were 25 executions carried out in 8 states.
Courts stayed 17 executions.
3 executions were halted by commutation.
Governors issued reprieves that halted 3 other executions.
1 failed execution was halted when execution personnel were unable to set an IV line.
13 executions were rescheduled.
Date of Scheduled ExecutionStatePrisonerOutcome
January
2PASheldon HannibalLegally premature warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on November 9, 2017 to provide Hannibal the opportunity to pursue federal habeas corpus challenges to his conviction and sentence that are available to all criminal defendants.
3OHJohn StumpfReprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on May 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for November 14, 2018.*
3OHWilliam MontgomeryRescheduled for April 11, 2018 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
18TXAnthony ShoreExecuted
25ALVernon MadisonStay granted by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 25, pending resolution of his petition for writ of certiorari on the question of whether he is competent to be executed.
30TXWilliam RayfordExecuted
JANUARY 20186 executions scheduled in 4 states2 executions carried out; 2 executions halted by stays of execution; 2 executions rescheduled
February
1TXJohn BattagliaExecuted
13OHWarren K. HennessRescheduled for March 14, 2018 by Gov. John Kasich on May 1, 2017.*
13OHRobert Van HookRescheduled for July 18, 2018 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
13OHRaymond TibbettsReprieve issued until October 17, 2018, by Gov. John Kasich on February 8, 2018. Gov. Kasich sent a letter to the Ohio Parole Board Chair asking the Board to reconsider Tibbetts’s request for clemency in light of new evidence that one of the jurors would not have voted for death had he known the information that was presented at the clemency hearing.
22ALDoyle Lee HammExecution halted by Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn shortly before midnight (Central Time) on February 22, 2018 when the execution team reported that it would not be able to set an IV line before the death warrant expired. A stay had been granted in an oral order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on January 31, 2018 to permit litigation of the claim that subjecting Hamm—who has two forms of cancer that he said compromised vein access—to lethal injection would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Stay vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on February 13.
22TXThomas WhitakerCommutation granted. On February 20, the Texas Pardons Board unanimously recommended that Governor Greg Abbott commute Thomas “Bart” Whitaker’s death sentence to life without parole. Governor Abbott formally issued the commutation about 1/2-hour before the execution was scheduled to occur on February 22.
22FLEric BranchExecuted.
23PARaghunandan YandamuriLegally premature warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on January 16, 2018 to provide Yandamuri the opportunity to pursue state and federal post-conviction challenges to his conviction and sentence that are available to all criminal defendants.
FEBRUARY 20188 executions scheduled in 5 states2 executions carried out; 1 failed execution; 1 execution halted by commutation; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution halted by stay of execution; 2 executions rescheduled
March
9PACharles Ray HicksLegally premature warrant. Stay granted by the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas on February 12, 2018 to provide Hicks the opportunity to pursue state post-conviction challenges that are available to all Pensylvania criminal defendants.
14OHDouglas ColeyRescheduled for September 18, 2019 by Gov. John Kasich on May 1, 2017*
14OHWarren K. HennesRescheduled for February 13, 2019 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
15ALMichael EggersExecuted
15GACarlton Michael GaryExecuted
20MORussell BucklewStay granted by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 20, 2018, pending resolution of his petition for writ of certiorari on the question of whether his medical condition makes it unconstituionally cruel to execute him by means of lethal injection.
27TXRosendo RodriguezExecuted
MARCH 20187 executions scheduled in 6 states3 executions; 2 executions halted by stay of execution; 2 executions rescheduled
April
11OHMelvin BonnellRescheduled for February 12, 2020 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
11OHWilliam MontgomeryCommutation granted. On March 16, the Ohio Board of Pardons voted 6-4 to recommend that Montgomery’s death sentence be commuted by Ohio Governor John Kasich. Gov. Kasich commuted Montgomery’s death sentence to life without parole on March, 26, 2018.
19ALWalter MoodyExecuted
25TXErick DavilaExecuted
APRIL 20184 executions scheduled in 3 states2 executions; 1 execution halted by commutation; 1 execution rescheduled
May
3GARobert Earl Butts, Jr.Executed. Stay granted by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on May 2, 2018 to provide the Board additional time to consider Butts’s petition for clemency. The Board lifted the stay and denied clemency on May 3 and the execution was rescheduled for, and carried out on, May 4.
7PAMarcel JohnsonLegally premature warrant. Stay granted by the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas on March 28, 2018 to provide Johnson the opportunity to pursue state post-conviction challenges that are available to all Pensylvania criminal defendants.
9TNJames HawkinsLegally premature warrant. Stay granted on April 11, 2018 to provide Hawkins the opportunity to pursue state post-conviction challenges that are available to all Tennessee criminal defendants.
16TXJuan CastilloExecuted
30OHStanley FitzpatrickRescheduled
MAY 20185 executions scheduled in 5 states2 executions; 2 executions stayed; 1 execution rescheduled
June
21TXClifton WilliamsStay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on June 5, 2018 to permit Williams to re-litigate his claim of intellectual disability under Moore v. Texas. The Texas courts had previously denied his claim, applying the “Briseno factors” that were declared unconstitutional in Moore.
27OHAngelo FearsRescheduled for October 17, 2019 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
27TXDanny BibleExecuted
JUNE 20183 executions scheduled in two states1 execution; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution rescheduled
July
11NVScott DozierTemporary restraining order granted by the Clark County District Court on July 11, 2018 barring Nevada from using midazolam manufactured by Alvogen Pharmaceuticals in any execution. Stay granted by the Clark County District Court on July 11.
17TXChristopher YoungExecuted
18OHRobert Van HookExecuted
JULY 20183 executions scheduled in three states2 executions; 1 execution stayed
August
1OHDavid A. SneedRescheduled for December 9, 2020 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
9TNBilly Ray IrickExecuted
14NECarey Dean MooreExecuted
14FLJose Antonio JimenezStay granted by the Florida Supreme Court on August 10, 2018.
30TXJoseph GarciaRescheduled for December 4, 2018.
AUGUST 20185 executions scheduled in 5 states2 executions; 1 execution stayed; 2 executions rescheduled
September
12TXGutierrez, RubenStay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on August 22, 2018 to provide newly appointed counsel time to investigate the case and “to preserve Gutierrez’s right to meaningful and effective legal representation.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the stay on September 10, leaving it in effect for 90 days after the date on which new habeas counsel was first appointed.
13OHCleveland R. JacksonReprieve issued by Governor John Kasich on July 20, 2018 and execution rescheduled for May 29, 2019.
13OHShawn GrateLegally premature warrant. Execution of the death warrant stayed by operation of law (Ohio Rev. Code sec. 2953.09) when Grate filed a notice of appeal on July 19 to permit him to pursue direct appeal remedies that are available to all Ohio capital defendants as of right.
26TXTroy ClarkExecuted
27TXDaniel AckerExecuted
SEPTEMBER 20185 executions scheduled in 2 states2 executions; 2 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve.
October
10OHJames Derrick O’NealRescheduled for February 21, 2021 by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017.^
10TXJuan SegundoStay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on October 5, 2018 to permit Segundo to re-litigate his claim of intellectual disability under Moore v. Texas. The Texas courts had previously denied his claim, applying the “Briseno factors” that were declared unconstitutional in Moore.
11TNEdmund Zagorski

Reprieve granted by Governor Bill Haslam on October 11, to last until October 21.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had granted a stay of execution on October 10 to permit Zagorski to pursue an appeal of a district court’s decision denying a motion to reopen his case to consider a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated that stay on October 12.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order on October 11 to permit full consideration of Zagorski’s civil rights action to bar the use of Tennessee’s lethal-injection protocol in his execution. That order is subject to appeal, but will be rendered moot if Tennessee carries out the execution by electrocution.

New death warrant issued October 22, 2018.

17OHRaymond TibbettsCommutation granted. On July 20, Gov. John Kasich commuted Tibbetts’s death sentence to life without parole. On February 8, 2018, Gov. Kasich had issued a reprieve until October 17, 2018 and sent a letter to the Ohio Parole Board Chair directing the Board to reconsider Tibbetts’s request for clemency in light of new evidence that one of the jurors would not have voted for death had he known the information that was presented at the clemency hearing. After that hearing, the Ohio Parole Board voted 7-1 against recommending clemency.
24TXKwame RockwellStay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on October 19, 2018 to permit Rockwell to obtain mental health evaluations and present evidence of his possible incompetency to be executed. Three judges dissented from the grant of the stay.
29SDRodney BergetExecuted.
OCTOBER 20186 executions scheduled in 4 states1 execution; 2 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by commutation; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled.
November
1TNEdmund ZagorskiExecuted.
6OHLance HundleyLegally premature warrant. Stay granted by the Ohio Supreme Court on September 12, 2018, pending completion of direct appeal proceedings to which all defendants are entitled as a matter of Ohio law.
7TXEmanuel KempStay granted, warrant withdrawn by Tarrant County District Court on October 8, 2018, to permit DNA testing.
14OHJohn David StumpfReprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for April 16, 2020.^
14TXRoberto Moreno RamosExecuted.
28TNSedrick ClaytonLegally premature warrant. Stay granted on November 1, 2018 to provide Clayton the opportunity to pursue state post-conviction challenges that are available to all Tennessee criminal defendants.
NOVEMBER 20186 executions scheduled in 3 states2 executions; 3 executions stayed; 1 execution rescheduled
December
4TXJoseph GarciaExecuted
6TNDavid Earl MillerExecuted
11TXAlvin BrazielExecuted
13FLJose JimenezExecuted
DECEMBER 20184 executions scheduled in 3 states4 executions

* On May 1, 2017 Governor Kasich issued a statement revising Ohio’s execution schedule for nine upcoming executions. This revised schedule was in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s order setting a briefing schedule for the Court’s en banc rehearing of the state’s appeal of a federal magistrate judge’s order issuing a preliminary injunction barring Ohio from carrying out 3-drug executions using midazolam or any execution using a paralytic agent or potassium chloride.

^ On September 1, 2017, Ohio’s Governor Kasich issued a statement and an updated execution schedule, which changed the execution dates for 19 of 26 condemned prisoners who had scheduled dates between September 2017 and September 2020. The execution schedule for these 26 prisoners now extends through April 2022.

“Volunteer” refers to prisoners who have voluntarily waived their normal appeals (not necessarily that they have volunteered for execution).