Stays and Executions in 2016
| Date of Scheduled Execution | State | Inmate | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
January |
|||
7 |
FL |
Oscar Bolin |
Executed |
14 |
AR |
Jason McGehee |
Temporary restraining order granted staying execution so already pending judicial review of AR lethal injection procedures could take place.~ |
14 |
AR |
Kenneth Williams |
Temporary restraining order granted staying execution so already pending judicial review of AR lethal injection procedures could take place.~ |
19 |
PA |
Gerald Watkins |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on December 4, 2015 to permit Watkins to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state and federal law.# |
20 |
TX |
Richard Masterson |
Executed |
21 |
OH |
Ronald Phillips |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
21 |
OH |
Jeffery Wogenstahl |
Rescheduled as a result of all 2015 Ohio executions being postponed until 2016 to allow the state more time to obtain new drugs. New Date Set. |
21 |
AL |
Christopher Brooks |
Executed |
22 |
PA |
Andre Staton |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on December 2, 2015 to permit Watkins to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state and federal law.# |
27 |
TX |
James Freeman |
Executed |
| JANUARY 2016 | 10 scheduled executions | 6 states | 4 executions; 4 executions stayed or enjoined; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled. |
February |
|||
3 |
GA |
Brandon Jones |
Executed |
11 |
FL |
Michael Ray Lambrix |
Stayed by Florida Supreme Court while the court considers his petition raising the retroactivity of Hurst v. Florida (U.S. 2016). |
16 |
TX |
Gustavo Garcia |
Executed |
17 |
GA |
Travis Hittson |
Executed |
19 |
OH |
Raymond Tibbetts |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
| FEBRUARY 2016 | 5 scheduled executions | 4 states | 3 executions; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve |
March |
|||
9 |
TX |
Coy Wesbrook |
Executed |
14 |
LA |
Daniel Blank |
Stayed by the Louisiana Supreme Court on a unanimous decision. |
15 |
TN |
Donald Strouth |
Died on death row, May 13, 2015 |
15 |
PA |
Thomas Meadows |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on January 28, 2016 to permit Meadows to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state and federal law.# |
16 |
PA |
Jeffrey Martin |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the Greene County Court of Common Pleas on February 9, 2016 to permit Martin to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state law.# |
16 |
VA |
Ricky Jovan Gray |
4th Circuit issued a stay while the Supreme Court is considering hearing the case. |
18 |
PA |
Christopher Johnson |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on March 2, 2016 to permit Johnson to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state and federal law.# |
17 |
FL |
Mark James Asay |
Stayed by Florida Supreme Court while the court considers his petition raising the retroactivity of Hurst v. Florida (U.S. 2016). |
22 |
TX |
Adam Ward |
Executed |
23 |
OH |
Alva Campbell |
Rescheduled due to all 2015 Ohio executions being postponed until 2016 to allow the state more time to obtain new drugs. New Date Set^^ |
30 |
TX |
John David Battaglia |
Stayed by 5th Circuit for appointment of new federal counsel to develop claim of incompetence to be executed |
31 |
GA |
Joshua Bishop |
Executed |
| MARCH 2016 | 12 scheduled executions | 8 states | 3 executions; 7 executions stayed; 1 execution rescheduled; 1 execution mooted when prisoner died on death row. |
April |
|||
6 |
TX |
Pablo Vasquez |
Executed |
12 |
GA |
Kenneth Fults |
Executed |
13 |
VA |
Ivan Teleguz |
Stayed by 4th Circuit to permit filing and disposition of petition for writ of certiorari in U.S. Supreme Court |
20 |
OH |
Gregory Lott |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
27 |
TX |
Robert Pruett |
Date changed to August 23, 2016. |
27 |
GA |
Daniel Lucas |
Executed |
| APRIL 2016 | 6 scheduled executions | 4 states | 3 executions; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled. |
May |
|||
2 |
PA |
Stephen Treiber |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on March 16, 2016 to permit Treiber to pursue habeas corpus appeals available to all defendants as a matter of federal law.# |
3 |
PA |
Shonda Dee Walter |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas on March 16, 2016 to permit Walter to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state law.# |
11 |
MO |
Earl Forrest |
Executed on May 11, 2016 |
11 |
TX |
Terry Darnell Edwards |
Date changed to October 19, 2016. |
12 |
AL |
Vernon Madison |
Stay granted by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for a determination of whether the Alabama state court’s decision finding him competent to be executed was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established U.S. Supreme Court precedent, or was the product of an unreasonable determination of the facts concerning Madison’s competency. The U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on Alabama’s motion to vacate the stay, leaving the circuit court’s decision intact. |
18 |
OH |
Angelo Fears |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
| MAY 2016 | 6 scheduled executions | 5 states | 1 execution; 3 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled. |
June |
|||
2 |
TX |
Charles Flores |
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution on May 27 to permit Flores to pursue a second state habeas corpus petition challenging the prosecution’s use of hypnotically refreshed eyewitness testimony to convict him of the murder. |
21 |
TX |
Robert Roberson |
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution on June 6, 2016 to permit Roberson to pursue a second state habeas petition challenging the prosecution’s use of “shaken baby” evidence on the grounds that: (1) new scientific evidence establishes that Roberson would not have been convicted; (2) “the State relied on false, misleading, and scientifically invalid testimony” in violation of Roberson’s Texas due process rights; (3) Roberson “is actually innocent of capital murder”; and (4) Roberson “is entitled to habeas relief because his due process right to a fundamentally fair trial was violated by the State’s introduction of false forensic science testimony that current science has exposed as false.” |
22 |
OH |
Warren Henness |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
| JUNE 2016 | 3 scheduled executions | 2 states | 2 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve. |
July |
|||
1 |
PA |
George Hitcho |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas on June 3, 2016 to permit Hitcho to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state law.# |
14 |
TX |
Perry Williams |
Execution stayed on July 6, 2016 by a Harris County trial court pending testing of lethal injection drug by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as part of a lawsuit settlement. |
14 |
GA |
John Wayne Conner |
Executed shortly after midnight on July 15, 2016. |
20 |
OH |
Cleveland R. Jackson |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
20 |
TX |
Taichin Preyor |
Execution date withdrawn upon motion of the parties. |
27 |
TX |
Rolando Ruiz |
Date changed to August 31, 2016. |
| JULY 2016 | 6 scheduled executions | 4 states | 1 execution; 2 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution date withdrawn; 1 execution rescheduled. |
August |
|||
10 |
TX |
Ramiro Gonzales |
Date changed to November 2, 2016. |
15 |
OH |
William Montgomery |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
23 |
TX |
Robert Pruett |
Stay granted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on August 11 to permit review of claims based on DNA evidence. |
24 |
TX |
Jeffery Wood |
Stay granted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on August 19 to permit review of claims that death sentence was a product of false scientific evidence concerning future dangerousness and that the prosecution’s use of false testimony to obtain the death sentence violated due process. |
31 |
TX |
Rolando Ruiz |
Stay granted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on August 26 “pending further order of this Court,” following filing of successive state post-conviction petition challenging (1) ineffectiveness of trial and intitial post-conviction counsel for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence and (2) the constitutionality of an execution two decades after the death sentence was imposed. |
| AUGUST 2016 | 5 scheduled executions | 2 states | 3 executions stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; one execution rescheduled. |
September |
|||
14 |
TX |
Robert Mitchell Jennings |
Stay granted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by a vote of 5-4 on September 2 “pending further order of this Court.” |
21 |
OH |
Kareem Jackson |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
| SEPTEMBER 2016 | 2 scheduled executions | 2 states | 1 execution stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve. |
October |
|||
5 |
TX |
Barney Fuller |
Executed (volunteer) |
19 |
OH |
Robert Van Hook |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
19 |
TX |
Terry Darnell Edwards |
Date changed to January 26, 2017. |
19 |
GA |
Gregory Lawler |
Executed |
| OCTOBER 2016 | 4 scheduled executions | 2 states | 2 executions; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled. |
November |
|||
2 |
TX |
Ramiro Gonzales |
Warrant withdrawn |
3 |
AL |
Thomas Arthur |
Stay granted by the U.S. Supreme Court pending review of Arthur’s petition for writ of certiorari involving a challenge to Alabama’s method of execution. |
16 |
OH |
Jeffery Wogenstahl |
All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve because new execution drugs could not be obtained.^^ |
16 |
GA |
Steven Spears |
Executed (volunteer) |
| NOVEMBER 2016 | 4 scheduled executions | 4 states | 1 execution; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 warrant withdrawn. |
December |
|||
6 |
GA |
William Sallie |
Executed |
7 |
TX |
John Battaglia |
Stay granted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on December 4 with directions to the parties to file briefs within 60 days on the question of Battaglia’s competency to be executed. |
8 |
AL |
Ronald Smith |
Executed |
19 |
PA |
Kevin Murphy |
Legally premature death warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on November 3, 2016 to permit Murphy to pursue post-conviction appeals available to all defendants as a matter of state and federal law.# |
| DECEMBER 2016 | 4 scheduled executions | 4 states | 2 executions; 2 executions stayed. |
#On February 13, 2015, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued a memorandum announcing a moratorium on all executions in the state. The memo stated that no executions will take place at least until he has “received and reviewed the forthcoming report of the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment.”
~ On October 8, 2015, the Arkansas Circuit Court granted a temporary restraining order staying all eight scheduled executions so that already pending judicial review of the state’s execution procedures could take place. Two of those executions were set for 2016.
^^ On October 19, 2015 the Ohio Department of Corrections issued a statement that Gov. Kasich granted reprieves postponing all executions that the state had scheduled in 2016. Ohio has been unable to obtain the execution drugs required to conduct executions under state law. All execution dates have been rescheduled by the state.
“Volunteer” refers to inmates who have voluntarily waived their normal appeals (not necessarily that they have volunteered for execution).
2016 Death Warrant Outcomes Nationally, by Month | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Scheduled Executions | Executions | Stayed by Courts | Reprieves | Execution Date Rescheduled | Withdrawn | Died on Death Row |
| Total | 67 | 20 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| January | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 12 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| April | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| December | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 Death Warrant Outcomes by State | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Scheduled Executions | Executions | Stayed by Courts | Reprieves | Execution Date Rescheduled | Withdrawn | Died on Death Row |
| Total | 67 | 20 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Texas | 23 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Ohio | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alabama | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
