---
title: '2021'
subtitle: 'Execution List'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/2021'
section: listOfDefendantsExecutedByYear
date: '2021-01-13T09:25:00-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T15:10:19-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

Last Updated: February 10, 2022

### Eleven prisoners have been executed in the United States in 2021 by the U.S. federal government and five states. 

  [![ ](https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Ex/ExecutionsThisYear2021/ExecutionsThisYear2021/1_rss.png)](#)                  

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### Executions in 2021

| Date | Number Since 1976 | State | Name | Age | Race | Victim Race | Method | Drug Protocol | Years from Sentence to Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/13/21 | 1530 | Federal | Lisa Montgomery | 52 | W | 1 White female | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 18 |
| 1/14/21 | 1531 | Federal | Corey Johnson | 52 | B | 6 Black males, 1 Black female | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 28 |
| 1/16/21 | 1532 | Federal | Dustin Higgs | 48 | B | 3 Black females | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 20 |
| 5/19/21 | 1533 | TX | Quintin Jones | 41 | B | 1 Black female | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 20 |
| 6/30/21 | 1534 | TX | John Hummel | 45 | W | 2 White female, 1 White male | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 10 |
| 9/28/21 | 1535 | TX | Rick Rhoades | 57 | W | 2 White male | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 28 |
| 10/5/21 | 1536 | MO | Ernest Johnson | 61 | B | 2 White females, 1 Black male | Lethal Injection | 1-drug (Pentobarbital) | 26 |
| 10/21/21 | 1537 | AL | Willie B. Smith III | 52 | B | 1 White female | Lethal Injection | 3-drug (Midazolam) | 29 |
| 10/28/21 | 1538 | OK | John Marion Grant | 60 | B | 1 White female | Lethal Injection | 3-drug (Midazolam) | 21 |
| 11/17/21 | 1539 | MS | David Cox | 50 | W | 1 White female | Lethal Injection | 3-drug (Midazolam) | 9 |
| 12/8/21 | 1540 | OK | Bigler Stouffer | 79 | W | 1 White female | Lethal Injection | 3-drug (Midazolam) | 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

Updated February 10, 2022 with additional victim information in the case of Ernest Johnson.

  [ ![Executions This Year (2020) ](https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Ex/ExecutionsThisYear/ExecutionsThisYear2020_1/1_rss.png) ](#)                 

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