Executions and Stays 2021
45 execution dates were scheduled by 11 states and the Federal Government for 2021.
There were 11 executions.
15 executions were stayed.
1 execution was halted by commutation.
10 executions were halted by reprieve.
7 warrants were withdrawn/removed/vacated/rescheduled.
1 prisoner died on death row while his warrant was pending.
| Date of Scheduled Execution | State | Prisoner | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | |||
| 12 | Federal | Lisa Montgomery |
Execution date vacated by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on December 24, 2020 because the new execution date was set while a stay of execution was in effect, in violation of the terms of federal execution regulations. On January 1, 2021, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the district court’s order, and the full court denied reargument.
Stay granted by U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 11, 2021 pending “highly expedited initial hearing en banc of Montgomery’s appeal to resolve our circuit law on the important question of the meaning of ‘implementation of death in the manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence is imposed,’ under the Federal Death Penalty Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3596(a).” Stay vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 12. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on January 11, 2021 to permit consideration of Montgomery’s claim that she is mentally incompetent to be executed. Stay vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on January 12. Stay granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on January 12, 2021 to permit appeal on whether the execution notice violated the terms of the trial court’s sentencing order. Stay vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court near midnight on January 12. EXECUTED January 13, 2021. |
| 13 | OH | Cleveland Jackson | REPRIEVED† |
| 14 | Federal | Corey Johnson | Preliminary injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 12, 2021 on the grounds that lethal injection with pentobarbital would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, given his active COVID-19 infection. A split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2-1 on January 14 to vacate the preliminary injunction. EXECUTED |
| 15 | Federal | Dustin Higgs | Execution notice invalidated by U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on December 29, 2020. Original sentencing order requires execution per Maryland procedures, while execution set for Indiana. Court says its lacks authority to modify the sentencing order. (The Department of Justice filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on December 31.) Stay vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court near midnight on January 15. Preliminary injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 12, 2021 on the grounds that lethal injection with pentobarbital would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, given his active COVID-19 infection. A split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2-1 on January 14 to vacate the preliminary injunction. EXECUTED January 16, 2021. |
| 20 | OH | Dawud E. Spaulding | Legally Premature Warrant STAYED by the Ohio Supreme Court on March 2, 2017 “pending disposition of available state remedies.”† |
| 21 | TX | Blain Milam | STAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on January 15, 2021 and remanded to the trial court for consideration of Milam’s claim that he is ineligible for the death penalty because of intellectual disability. |
| JANUARY 2021 | 6 executions scheduled by 2 states and the federal government | 3 executions; 2 death warrants stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve. | |
| February | |||
| 4 | TN | Oscar Franklin Smith | STAY GRANTED by the Tennessee Supreme Court on January 6 as a result of COVID-19 concerns. |
| 10 | TX | Edward Busby | STAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on February 3, 2021 and remanded to the trial court for consideration of Busby’s claim that he is ineligible for the death penalty because of intellectual disability. |
| 11 | AL | Willie B. Smith III | Temporary stay granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on February 10, 2021 until February 16 to provide the court time to consider a claim Smith raised under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Stay vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court close to midnight Eastern time on February 11, 2021. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION GRANTED by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on February 10, 2021 based on Smith’s claim that Alabama’s refusal to permit his pastor in the execution chamber violates federal religious discrimination law. Application to vacate the injunction DENIED by the U.S. Supreme Court close to midnight Eastern time on February 11, 2021. |
| 12 | SC | Brad Sigmon | EXECUTION DATE VACATED by the South Carolina Supreme Court on February 4, 2021 on the grounds that “the execution is currently impossible” because the Department of Corrections “will not be able to obtain the required drugs prior to the scheduled date of execution.” |
| 18 | OH | James O’Neal | REPRIEVED† |
| FEBRUARY 2021 | 5 executions scheduled by 5 states | 3 death warrants stayed or enjoined; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution date vacated. | |
| March | |||
| 4 | TX | Ramiro Ibarra | STAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on February 24, 2021 and remanded to the trial court for consideration of Ibarra’s claims that he is ineligible for the death penalty because of intellectual disability and that new DNA science shows that the evidence used to convict him was unreliable. |
| 18 | OH | Melvin Bonnell | REPRIEVED† |
| 24 | OH | Steven E. Cepec | DATE REMOVED† |
| MARCH 2021 | 3 executions scheduled by 2 states | 1 death warrant stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution date removed. | |
| April | |||
| 8 | TN | Byron Black | STAY GRANTED by the Tennessee Supreme Court on December 3, 2020. |
| 20 | TX | Ramiro Gonzales | Execution rescheduled for November 17, 2021. |
| 21 | OH | Elwood Jones | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 18, 2020, and execution rescheduled for December 6, 2023.† |
| APRIL 2021 | 3 executions scheduled by 3 states | 1 death warrant stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 rescheduled | |
| May | |||
| 14 | PA | Paul Gamboa-Taylor | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Governor Tom Wolf on May 7, 2021. |
| 14 | SC | Freddie Owens | STAY GRANTED by the South Carolina Supreme Court on May 4, 2021 “[b]ecause the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) lacks the means to conduct an execution by lethal injection at this time.” The stay remains in effect “until SCDC advises the Court it has the ability to perform the execution as required by the law.” |
| 19 | TX | Quintin Jones | EXECUTED |
| 26 | OH | David Martin | STAY GRANTED by the Ohio Supreme Court on April 8, 2021 pending “exhaustion of all state post-conviction proceedings, including any appeals.” |
| 27 | OH | Gregory Lott | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 18, 2020, and execution rescheduled for February 15, 2024.† |
| MAY 2021 | 5 executions scheduled by 4 states | 1 execution; 2 execution stayed; 2 executions halted by reprieve | |
| June | |||
| 2 | ID | Gerald Pizzuto | STAY GRANTED by the Idaho District Court for the 2nd District on May 18, 2021 “until the conclusion of commutation proceedings related to Mr. Pizzuto’s current commutation petition” scheduled for the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole’s November 2021 hearing session. |
| 18 | SC | Brad Sigmon | STAY GRANTED by the South Carolina Supreme Court on June 16, 2021 because the South Carolina law provides a statutory right for the prisoner to elect between execution by electric chair or execution by firing squad and the S.C. Department of Corrections has no procedures in place to carry out executions by firing squad. |
| 23 | OH | Archie Dixon | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 18, 2020, and execution rescheduled for April 17, 2024.† |
| 25 | SC | Freddie Owens | STAY GRANTED by the South Carolina Supreme Court on June 16, 2021 because the South Carolina law provides a statutory right for the prisoner to elect between execution by electric chair or execution by firing squad and the S.C. Department of Corrections has no procedures in place to carry out executions by firing squad. |
| 30 | TX | John Hummel | EXECUTED |
| JUNE 2021 | 5 executions scheduled by 4 states | 1 execution; 3 warrants stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve | |
| July | |||
| 26 | NV | Zane Floyd | Scheduled for week of July 26. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on June 28, 2021 because Nevada’s late disclosure of a never-before-used execution protocol did not provide sufficient time for the court to order discovery, conduct an evidentiary hearing, and determine the constitutionality of the protocol. Stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on June 28, 2021 with written order issued July 7, 2021 (order appealed). STAY GRANTED by the Nevada state courts on July 9 “pending the Nevada Supreme Court’s ruling on Mr. Floyd’s pending petition for writ of mandamus and prohibition.” |
| JULY 2021 | 1 execution scheduled by 1 state | 1 warrant stayed | |
| August | |||
| 11 | OH | Timothy Hoffner | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 9, 2021 and execution rescheduled for June 18, 2024. † |
| AUGUST 2021 | 1 execution scheduled by 1 state | 1 execution halted by reprieve | |
| September | |||
| 9 | TX | John Ramirez | STAY GRANTED and petition for a writ of certiorari granted by the U.S. Supreme Court on September 8, 2021 to determine whether Texas’s restrictions on religious activities in the execution chamber violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. |
| 15 | OH | John Stumpf | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 9, 2021 and execution rescheduled for August 13, 2024. † |
| 28 | TX | Rick Rhoades | EXECUTED |
| SEPTEMBER 2021 | 3 execution scheduled by 2 states | 1 execution; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution halted by reprieve | |
| October | |||
| 5 | MO | Ernest Johnson | EXECUTED |
| 12 | TX | Stephen Barbee | STAY GRANTED by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on October 7, 2021 on the same claim religious liberty claims raised by John Ramirez to provide the District Court “time to explore and resolve serious factual issues concerning the balance between [Barbee’s] religious rights and the prison’s valid concerns for security.” |
20 | OH | James Frazier | DIED ON DEATH ROW† |
| 21 | AL | Willie B. Smith III | EXECUTED |
| 27 | TX | Ruben Gutierrez | EXECUTION WARRANT VACATED by the trial court in Cameron County on September 15, 2021 pending the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in John Ramirez’s case on the scope of the right to free exercise of religion in the execution chamber. |
| 28 | OK | John Marion Grant | Stay granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on October 27, 2021 pending the outcome of February 2022 trial on the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s lethal-injection protocol. STAY VACATED by U.S. Supreme Court on October 28. EXECUTED |
| OCTOBER 2021 | 6 executions scheduled by 5 states | 3 executions; 1 execution stayed; 1 execution date vacated; 1 prisoner died on death row | |
| November | |||
| 3 | TX | Fabian Hernandez | WITHDRAWN |
| 10 | TX | Kosoul Chanthakoummane | EXECUTION WARRANT WITHDRAWN by the Collin County District Court on October 19, 2021 and new execution warrant issued for August 17, 2022. |
17 | TX | Ramiro Gonzales | EXECUTION WARRANT WITHDRAWN and new execution warrant issued for September 13, 2022. |
| 17 | MS | David Cox | EXECUTED |
| 18 | OK | Julius Jones | Stay granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on October 27, 2021 pending the outcome of February 2022 trial on the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s lethal-injection protocol. STAY VACATED by U.S. Supreme Court on October 28.
COMMUTED to life without parole by Gov. Kevin Stitt on November 18, 2021 “on the condition that [Jones] shall never again be eligible to apply for, be considered for, or receive any additional commutation, pardon, or parole.” |
| NOVEMBER 2021 | 5 executions scheduled by 3 states | 1 execution; 1 execution halted by commutation; 3 warrants withdrawn | |
| December | |||
| 9 | OH | Lawrence Landrum | REPRIEVE GRANTED by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 9, 2021 and execution rescheduled for October 15, 2024. † |
| 9 | OK | Bigler Jobe Stouffer | EXECUTED |
| DECEMBER 2021 | 2 execution scheduled by 2 states | 1 execution halted by reprieve; 1 execution | |
† 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. In December 2020, he indicated that he did not consider lethal injection a viable execution method.
| 2021 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/ Vacated | Pending |
| Total | 45 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| January | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| February | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| March | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| April | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| May | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| June | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| July | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| August | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| September | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| October | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| November | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| December | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Death Warrant Outcomes by Jurisdiction | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Scheduled Executions | Executions | Stayed by Courts* | Commutations | Reprieves | Died on Death Row | Rescheduled | Date Removed or Warrant Withdrawn/ Vacated | Pending |
| TOTALS | 45 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Texas | 13 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Ohio | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Federal Government | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alabama | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
