Executions and Stays 2020

62 execution dates were scheduled by 8 states and the Federal Government for 2020.
17 executions were carried out by 5 states and the Federal Government.
19 executions were stayed.
1 execution was halted by commutation.
16 executions were halted by reprieve.
9 warrants were withdrawn/​removed/​rescheduled.



Date of Scheduled ExecutionStatePrisonerOutcome
January
13FederalAlfred BourgeoisPreliminary 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.
15FederalDustin Lee HonkenPreliminary 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.
15OHGeorge BrinkmanLegally 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.†
15OHDenny ObermillerDate removed.†
15TXJohn GardnerExecuted
16OHKareem JacksonReprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on October 30, 2019 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for September 16, 2020.†
16GAJimmy MedersCommuted to life with­out parole by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on January 16, 2020.
29GADonnie Cleveland Lance

Executed

JANUARY 20208 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states and the Federal Government2 exe­cu­tions; 3 death war­rants stayed or enjoined; 1 death sen­tence com­mut­ed; 1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve; 1 death war­rant date removed
February
6
TXAbel Ochoa

Executed

12OHLawrence LandrumReprieve grant­ed by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for December 9, 2021.†
12OHMelvin Bonnell

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 20, 2019 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for March 18, 2021.†

20
TNNicholas Todd SuttonExecuted
FEBRUARY 20204 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states2 exe­cu­tions; 2 exe­cu­tions halt­ed by reprieves
March
5ALNathaniel WoodsExecuted
11OHAnthony BeltonDate removed.†
11TXCarlos TrevinoRescheduled for June 3, 2020
12OHGregory Lott

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for May 27, 2021.†

13PAJordan 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.

18TXJohn 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.”

25TXTracy 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 20207 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 4 states1 exe­cu­tion; 3 death war­rants stayed; 1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve; 2 exe­cu­tion dates removed or rescheduled
April
16TNAbu-Ali Abdur’ RahmanStay 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. (Execution date had been resched­uled from April 9, 2020.)
16OHStanley T. AdamsReprieve grant­ed by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for February 16, 2022 .†
16OHJohn Stumpf

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for September 15, 2021.†

23TXFabian Hernandez

60-day stay grant­ed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 1, 2020 based on defense motion invok­ing coro­n­avirus health crisis.

29TXBilly Wardlow

Execution resched­uled for July 8, 2020 by order of the tri­al court on April 6, 2020, grant­i­ng a motion by the Morris County District Attorney’s office to resched­ule the exe­cu­tion and deny­ing a motion by the defense to with­draw the death warrant.

APRIL 20205 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states2 exe­cu­tions halt­ed by reprieve; 2 death war­rants stayed; 1 warrant rescheduled
May
6TXEdward Busby

60-day stay grant­ed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 27, 2020 based on a defense motion invok­ing coro­n­avirus health crisis.

13TXRandall Mays

Stay grant­ed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on May 7, 2020, which remand­ed his case to the tri­al court to review his claim of intellectual disability.

13OHCaron MontgomeryDate removed.†
14OHWarren Keith Henness

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on January 31, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for January 12, 2022.†

19MOWalter Barton

Executed. Stay grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on May 15, 2020, but vacat­ed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on May 17.

MAY 20205 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states

1 exe­cu­tion; 1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve; 2 death war­rants stayed; 1 death warrant removed.

June
2PATam Minh Le

Legally pre­ma­ture war­rant. Stay grant­ed by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on April 22, 2020 to per­mit Le to pur­sue state post-con­vic­tion review of his con­vic­tion and death sen­tence that is guar­an­teed as a mat­ter of Pennsylvania law.

3

TXCarlos Trevino

Execution resched­uled by Bexar County Judicial District Court on April 15, 2020. New exe­cu­tion date is September 30, 2020.

4TNOscar Franklin Smith

Stay grant­ed by the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 17, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for February 4, 2021.

16TXRuben Gutierrez

Stay grant­ed by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 16, 2020 to deter­mine whether to review Gutierrez’s peti­tion to review his chal­lenge to Texas’s denial of his request to have a Christian chap­lain accom­pa­ny him in the exe­cu­tion cham­ber. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ini­tial­ly grant­ed a stay of exe­cu­tion on June 9. That stay was vacat­ed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on June 12.

17OHRomell Broom

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 14, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for March 16, 2022.†

22PAEric Frein

Legally pre­ma­ture war­rant. Stay grant­ed by the Pike Court of Common Pleas on June 12, 2020 to per­mit Frein to pur­sue state post-con­vic­tion review of his con­vic­tion and death sen­tence that is guar­an­teed as a mat­ter of Pennsylvania law.

JUNE 20206 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 4 states4 death war­rants stayed; 1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve; 1 execution rescheduled.
July
8TXBilly Joe WardlowExecuted
13FederalDaniel Lee

Executed. A pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion was grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 13, 2020 on the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. Motion to vacate injunc­tion denied by U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after 10:00 p.m. on July 13 but was VACATED by a 5 – 4 vote of the U.S. Supreme Court at 2:30 a.m. on July 14.

The gov­ern­ment attempt­ed to car­ry out the exe­cu­tion at 4:00 a.m., but coun­sel noti­fied the Bureau of Prisons of a December 2019 stay from an Arkansas fed­er­al dis­trict court that was still in effect. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacat­ed that stay at 6:36 a.m. Central/7:36 a.m. Eastern and Lee was exe­cut­ed with­out notice to coun­sel less than a half-hour later.

An ear­li­er pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion grant­ed on July 10, 2020 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana based on the vic­tims’ fam­i­ly’s request to post­pone the exe­cu­tion because of the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic was vacat­ed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on July 12 and the U.S. Supreme Court on July 14 declined to stay the exe­cu­tion to per­mit an appeal.

15OHNathaniel JacksonDate removed.†
15FederalWesley Purkey

Executed. At around 3:00 a.m. on July 16, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court vacat­ed by a 5 – 4 vote a pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had grant­ed on July 15, 2020 on Purkey’s chal­lenge to his com­pe­ten­cy to be exe­cut­ed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had declined to vacate the injunction.

At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court also vacat­ed a sec­ond pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 15, 2020 on claims raised in the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also had declined to vacate that injunction.

On July 15, the U.S. Supreme Court vot­ed 5 – 4 to vacate a tem­po­rary stay of exe­cu­tion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit had grant­ed on July 2, 2022 pend­ing ​“the issuance of th[e] court’s man­date or as spec­i­fied in any sub­se­quent order that is issued.”

A pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion was grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 13, 2020 on the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. A motion to vacate the injunc­tion was denied by U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 13, 2020. A sec­ond motion to vacate the injunc­tion was grant­ed by the U.S. Supreme Court around 2:30 a.m. on July 14 on a 5 – 4 vote.

16OHJohn Hanna

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 14, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for May 18, 2022.†

17FederalDustin Honken

Executed.

At around 3:00 a.m. on July 16, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court vacat­ed a pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 15, 2020 on claims raised in the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had declined to vacate that injunc­tion.

A pri­or pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion had been grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 13, 2020 on oth­er issues in the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 13, 2020 denied the gov­ern­men­t’s motion to vacate that injunc­tion. However, around 2:30 a.m. on July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court grant­ed a sec­ond motion to vacate the injunction.

28PALeeton Thomas

Legally pre­ma­ture war­rant. Stay grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 30, 2020 to per­mit Thomas to pur­sue habeas cor­pus review of his con­vic­tion and death sen­tence that is guar­an­teed as a mat­ter of federal law.

JULY 20207 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states and the federal government4 exe­cu­tions; 1 death war­rant stayed; 1 exe­cu­tion date removed; 1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve.
August
4TNHarold Wayne NicholsReprieve grant­ed by Gov. Bill Lee on July 17, 2020.
12OHDouglas Coley

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 14, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for July 20, 2022.†

26FederalLezmond MitchellExecuted.
28FederalKeith Nelson

Executed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 27, 2020 vacat­ed an injunc­tion entered ear­li­er in the day by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia based on Nelson’s argu­ment that the fed­er­al pro­to­col vio­lat­ed the require­ments of the Federal Food & Drug Act. The District Court on August 28 denied Nelson’s motion to enter addi­tion­al find­ings and issue a new order.

At around 3:00 a.m. on July 16, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court vacat­ed a pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 15, 2020 on claims raised in the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had declined to vacate that injunction.

A pri­or pre­lim­i­nary injunc­tion had been grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 13, 2020 on oth­er issues in the pris­on­ers’ chal­lenge to the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion pro­to­col. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 13, 2020 denied the gov­ern­men­t’s motion to vacate that injunc­tion. However, around 2:30 a.m. on July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court grant­ed a sec­ond motion to vacate the injunction.

AUGUST 20204 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 2 states and the federal government2 exe­cu­tions; 2 exe­cu­tions halt­ed by reprieve
September
9TXJohn Ramirez

Warrant with­drawn

16OHKareem Jackson

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on June 5, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for September 15, 2022.†

17OHJohn DrummondReprieve grant­ed by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for April 21, 2022.†
24FederalWilliam LeCroy

Executed

26Feder­alChristopher Andre VialvaExecuted
30TXCarlos TrevinoExecution date with­drawn by the Bexar County District Court on September 15, 2020 ​“due to the cur­rent COVID-19 con­di­tions in Texas.” A hear­ing to reset the exe­cu­tion date has been sched­uled for March 5, 2021.
SEPTEMBER 20206 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 2 states and the federal government2 exe­cu­tions; 2 exe­cu­tions halt­ed by reprieve; 2 warrants withdrawn.
October
8TNByron Black

Stay grant­ed by the Tennessee Supreme Court on June 12, 2020 because of the coro­n­avirus impact on lit­i­ga­tion and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for April 8, 2021.

14OHStanley Fitzpatrick

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on June 5, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for February 15, 2023.†

OCTOBER 20202 exe­cu­tions sched­uled in 2 states1 exe­cu­tion halt­ed by reprieve; 1 death warrant stayed.
November
18OHAnthony SowellLegally 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.†
19FederalOrlando HallExecuted

NOVEMBER 2020

2 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 1 state and the federal government1 exe­cu­tion; 1 death warrant stayed
December
3TNPervis Payne

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Bill Lee on November 6, 2020 until April 9, 2021.

4SCRichard Moore

Stay grant­ed by the South Carolina Supreme Court on November 30, 2020 because ​“the South Carolina Department of Corrections does not have, and will not be able to obtain, the drugs required for exe­cu­tion by lethal injec­tion by December 4, 2020.”

8FederalLisa MontgomeryTemporary stay grant­ed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 18, 2020 based on the denial of mean­ing­ful access to clemen­cy and the aban­don­ment by coun­sel result­ing from coun­sel’s con­tract­ing COVID-19. Execution resched­uled for January 12, 2021.
9OHDavid Sneed

Reprieve grant­ed by Gov. Mike DeWine on June 5, 2020 and exe­cu­tion resched­uled for April 19, 2023.†

10FederalBrandon Bernard

Executed

11FederalAlfred BourgeoisExecuted
DECEMBER 20206 exe­cu­tions sched­uled by 3 states and the federal government2 exe­cu­tions; 2 exe­cu­tions halt­ed by reprieve; 2 execution stayed

† 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



MonthScheduled
Executions		ExecutionsStayed by Courts*CommutationsReprievesDied on
Death Row		RescheduledDate Removed or
Warrant Withdrawn
Total

62

17

19

1

16

0

3

6

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

April

5

0

2

0

2

0

1

0

May

5

1

2

0

1

0

0

1

June

6

0401010
July7410100

0

August4

2

00

2

00

1

September

6

2

002

0

02
October20

1

01000
November

2

1

100000
December6

2

20

2

000
2020 Death Warrant Outcomes by Jurisdiction



StateScheduled
Executions		ExecutionsStayed by Courts*CommutationsReprievesDied on
Death Row		RescheduledDate Removed or
Warrant Withdrawn
TOTALS

62

17

19

1

16

0

3

6

Ohio200

2

0

14

004
Texas

14

3

6000

3

2
Federal Government13

10

300000
Tennessee

6

1

3

0200

0

Pennsylvania40

4

0000

0

Georgia2

1

010000
Alabama11000000
Missouri11000000
South Carolina10100000