Executions

Execution List 2020

Seventeen prisoners were executed in the United States in 2020. Five states and the Federal Government carried out executions.

DateNumber Since 1976StateNameAgeRaceVictim RaceMethodDrug ProtocolYears from Sentence to Execution
1/​15/​20

1513

TXJohn Gardner64W1 White femaleLethal Injection1‑drug (Pentobarbital)13
1/​29/​201514GADonnie Lance65W1 White male, 1 White femaleLethal Injection1‑drug (Pentobarbital)21
2/​6/​201515TXAbel Ochoa47L2 Latinx femalesLethal Injection1‑drug (Pentobarbital)17
2/​20/​201516TNNicholas Todd Sutton58W1 White maleElectrocutionN/​A34
3/​5/​201517ALNathaniel Woods43B3 White malesLethal Injection3‑drug (Midazolam)14
5/​19/​201518MOWalter Barton64W1 White femaleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)26
7/​8/​201519TXBilly Joe Wardlow45W1 White maleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)25
7/​14/​201520

Federal

Daniel Lewis Lee

47

W

1 White male, 2 White female

Lethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)21
7/​16/​201521FederalWesley Ira Purkey68W1 White femaleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)17
7/​17/​201522FederalDustin Lee Honken52W2 White males, 3 White femalesLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)14
8/​26/​201523FederalLezmond Mitchell38NA

2 Native American females

Lethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)17
8/​28/​201524FederalKeith Dwayne Nelson45W1 White female

Lethal injec­tion

1‑drug (Pentobarbital)18
9/​22/​201525FederalWilliam Emmett LeCroy50W1 White femaleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)16
9/​24/​201526FederalChristopher Andre Vialva40B

1 White male, 1 White female

Lethal injec­tion

1‑drug (Pentobarbital)

20
11/​19/​201527Federal

Orlando Hall

49B1 Black femaleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)25
12/​10/​201528FederalBrandon Bernard40B1 White male, 1 White femaleLethal injec­tion1‑drug (Pentobarbital)20
12/​11/​201529FederalAlfred Bourgeois56B1 Black female

Lethal injec­tion

1‑drug (Pentobarbital)18

Most states car­ry out exe­cu­tions with a three-drug lethal-injec­tion pro­to­col. Others use a sin­gle drug. The three-drug pro­to­col typ­i­cal­ly begins with an anes­thet­ic or seda­tive, fol­lowed by a sec­ond drug to par­a­lyze the inmate and a third drug — typ­i­cal­ly potas­si­um chlo­ride — to stop the pris­on­er’s heart. The first drug used varies by state and is list­ed above for each exe­cu­tion.

ƒ female
* vol­un­teer — an inmate who waived ordi­nary appeals that remained at the time of his or her exe­cu­tion
~ for­eign nation­al
¥ white defen­dant exe­cut­ed for mur­der of black victim