Executions and Stays 2020
(Last updated April 1, 2020)
45 execution dates have been scheduled by 7 states and the Federal Government for 2020.
To date, there have been 5 executions in 4 states.
9 executions have been stayed.*
1 execution has been halted by commutation.
8 executions have been halted by reprieve.
5 warrants have been withdrawn/removed/rescheduled.
17 death warrants are pending.^
* Does not include cases with stays of execution or preliminary injunctions that are currently under appeal or are still subject to appeal.
^ Includes cases with stays of execution that are under appeal or are still subject to appeal.
| Date of Scheduled Execution | State | Prisoner | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | |||
| 13 | Federal | Alfred Bourgeois | Preliminary injunction granted on November 21, 2019 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia based on a determination that the federal execution protocol announced in July 2019 violates the federal death penalty statute. Motion to vacate injunction denied on December 2 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Application to vacate injunction denied on December 6 by the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| 15 | Federal | Dustin Lee Honken | Preliminary injunction granted on November 21, 2019 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia based on a determination that the federal execution protocol announced in July 2019 violates the federal death penalty statute. Motion to vacate injunction denied on December 2 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Application to vacate injunction denied on December 6 by the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| 15 | OH | George Brinkman | Legally premature warrant. Stay granted by the Ohio Supreme Court on October 9, 2019 to permit Brinkman to pursue appellate review of his conviction and death sentence that is guaranteed as a matter of Ohio law.† |
| 15 | OH | Denny Obermiller | Date removed.† |
| 15 | TX | John Gardner | Executed |
| 16 | OH | Kareem Jackson | Reprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on October 30, 2019 and execution rescheduled for September 16, 2020.† |
| 16 | GA | Jimmy Meders | Commuted to life without parole by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on January 16, 2020. |
| 29 | GA | Donnie Cleveland Lance | Executed |
| JANUARY 2020 | 8 executions scheduled by 3 states and the Federal Government | 2 executions; 3 death warrants stayed or enjoined; 1 death sentence commuted; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 death warrant date removed. | |
| February | |||
| 6 | TX | Abel Ochoa | Executed |
| 12 | OH | Lawrence Landrum | Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for December 9, 2021.† |
| 12 | OH | Melvin Bonnell | Reprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 20, 2019 and execution rescheduled for March 18, 2021. |
| 20 | TN | Nicholas Todd Sutton | Executed |
| FEBRUARY 2020 | 4 executions scheduled by 3 states | 2 executions; 2 executions halted by reprieves | |
| March | |||
| 5 | AL | Nathaniel Woods | Executed |
| 11 | OH | Anthony Belton | Date removed.† |
| 11 | TX | Carlos Trevino | Rescheduled for June 3, 2020 |
| 12 | OH | Gregory Lott | Reprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and execution rescheduled for May 27, 2021. |
| 13 | PA | Jordan Clemons | Legally premature warrant. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on February 11, 2020 to permit Clemons to pursue habeas corpus review of his conviction and death sentence that is guaranteed as a matter of federal law. |
| 18 | TX | John Hummel | 60-day stay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on March 16, 2020 “in light of the current health crisis and the enormous resources needed to address that emergency.” |
| 25 | TX | Tracy Lane Beatty | 60-day stay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on March 19, 2020 “in light of the current health crisis and the enormous resources needed to address that emergency.” |
| MARCH 2020 | 7 executions scheduled by 4 states | 1 execution; 3 death warrants stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 2 execution dates removed or rescheduled | |
| April | |||
| 9 | TN | Abu-Ali Abdur’ Rahman | Stay granted by Tennessee Supreme Court on December 11, 2019 to determine whether Attorney General has standing to appeal August 30, 2019 trial court acceptance of plea agreement resentencing Abdur’Rahman to life in prison on August 30, 2019. |
| 16 | OH | Stanley T. Adams | Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for February 16, 2022 .† |
| 16 | OH | John Stumpf | Reprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and execution rescheduled for September 15, 2021. |
| 23 | TX | Fabian Hernandez | 60-day stay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 1, 2020 based on defense motion invoking coronavirus health crisis. |
| 29 | TX | Billy Wardlow | Pending |
| APRIL 2020 | 5 executions scheduled by 3 states | 2 executions halted by reprieve; 2 death warrants stayed; 1 warrant pending | |
| May | |||
| 6 | TX | Edward Busby | Pending |
| 13 | TX | Randall Mays | Pending |
| 13 | OH | Caron Montgomery | Date removed.† |
| 14 | OH | Warren Keith Henness | Reprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and execution rescheduled for January 12, 2022. |
| 19 | MO | Walter Barton | Pending |
| MAY 2020 | 5 executions scheduled in 3 states | 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 death warrant date removed; 3 warrants pending | |
| June | |||
3 | TX | Carlos Trevino | Pending |
| 4 | TN | Oscar Franklin Smith | Pending |
| 16 | TX | Ruben Gutierrez | Pending |
| 17 | OH | Romell Broom | Pending† |
| JUNE 2020 | 4 executions scheduled in 3 states | 4 warrants pending | |
| July | |||
| 15 | OH | Nathaniel Jackson | Date removed.† |
| 16 | OH | John Hanna | Pending† |
| JULY 2020 | 2 executions scheduled in 1 state | 1 death warrant date removed; 1 warrant pending | |
| August | |||
| 4 | TN | Harold Wayne Nichols | Pending |
| 12 | OH | Douglas Coley | Pending† |
| AUGUST 2020 | 2 executions scheduled by 2 states | 2 warrants pending | |
| September | |||
| 9 | TX | John Ramirez | Pending |
| 16 | OH | Kareem Jackson | Pending† |
| 17 | OH | John Drummond | Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for April 21, 2022.† |
| SEPTEMBER 2020 | 2 executions scheduled in 1 state | 1 execution halted by reprieve; 2 warrants pending | |
| October | |||
| 8 | TN | Byron Black | Pending |
| 14 | OH | Stanley Fitzpatrick | Pending† |
| OCTOBER 2020 | 2 executions scheduled in 2 states | 2 warrants pending | |
| November | |||
| 18 | OH | Anthony Sowell | Legally premature warrant. Stay granted by the Ohio Supreme Court on January 5, 2017 “pending disposition of available state remedies” to permit Sowell to pursue appellate and post-conviction review of his conviction and death sentence that is guaranteed as a matter of Ohio law.† |
NOVEMBER 2020 | 1 execution scheduled in 1 state | 1 death warrant stayed | |
| December | |||
| 3 | TN | Pervis Payne | Pending |
| 9 | OH | David Sneed | Pending† |
| DECEMBER 2020 | 2 executions scheduled in 2 states | 2 warrants pending | |
† On February 19, 2019, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated that the state would not carry out any executions until it devised a new execution protocol that was approved by the courts. However, he did not formally halt the executions scheduled in the state.
|
2020 Death Warrant Outcomes Nationally, by Month
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Scheduled Executions | Executions | Stayed by Courts* | Commutations | Reprieves | Died on Death Row | Rescheduled | Date Removed or Warrant Withdrawn | Pending |
| January | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| February | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| March | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| April | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| May | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| June | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| July | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| August | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| September | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| October | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| November | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 45 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
|
2020 Death Warrant Outcomes by State
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Scheduled Executions | Executions | Stayed by Courts* | Commutations | Reprieves | Died on Death Row | Rescheduled | Date Removed or Warrant Withdrawn | Pending |
| Ohio | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Texas | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Tennessee | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Federal Government | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 45 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
Recent Legislative Activity
Mar 14, 2020
Legislative Roundup — Recent Legislative Activity as of March 14
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Mar 08, 2020
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Recent Legislative Activity
Feb 28, 2020