Stays of Execution 2020

Date of Scheduled Execution State Prisoner Reason for Stay
January
13FederalAlfred 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.

15OHDenny ObermillerDate removed.
15

OH

George 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.
15FederalDustin 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.

16 OH Kareem Jackson Reprieve 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.
February
12 OH Lawrence Landrum Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for December 9, 2021.^
20OHMelvin BonnellReprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on December 20, 2019 and execution rescheduled for March 18, 2021.
March
11 OH Anthony Belton Date removed.
11TXCarlos TrevinoExecution rescheduled for June 3, 2020.
12OHGregory LottReprieve 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 Hummel60-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 Beatty60-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.”
April
16TNAbu-Ali Abdur’ RahmanResentenced to life on August 30, 2019. After Tennessee Attorney General sought to intervene in the case and vacate the resentencing, the Tennessee Supreme Court on December 11, 2019 granted a stay of execution.
16 OH Stanley Adams Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for February 16, 2022.^
16OHJohn StumpfReprieve 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.

May
6TXEdward Busby60-day stay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 27, 2020 based on a defense motion invoking coronavirus health crisis.
13 OH

Caron Montgomery


Date removed.

13TXRandall MaysStay 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.
14OHWarren “Keith” Henness

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

June
2PATam Minh LeLegally 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.
3TXCarlos TrevinoExecution rescheduled by Bexar County Judicial District Court on April 15, 2020. New execution date is September 30, 2020.
4TNOscar Franklin SmithStay granted by the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 17, 2020 and execution rescheduled for February 4, 2021.
16TXRuben GutierrezStay 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, which 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 FreinLegally 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.
July
15 OH

Nathaniel Jackson


Date removed.
16OHJohn HannaReprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on April 14, 2020 and execution rescheduled for May 18, 2022.
28PALeeton ThomasLegally 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.
August
12 OH Douglas Coley

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

September
16OHKareem JacksonReprieve granted by Gov. Mike DeWine on June 5, 2020 and execution rescheduled for September 15, 2022.
17 OH John Drummond Reprieve granted by Gov. John Kasich on September 1, 2017 and execution rescheduled for April 21, 2022.^
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.
October
8TNByron BlackStay granted by the Tennessee Supreme Court on June 12, 2020 because of the coronavirus impact on litigation and execution rescheduled for April 8, 2021.
14 OH Stanley Fitzpatrick

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

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.

December
3TNPervis PayneReprieve granted by Gov. Bill Lee on November 6, 2020 until April 9, 2021.
4SCRichard MooreStay 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.
9 OH David Sneed

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

^ On September 1, 2017, Ohio’s Governor Kasich issued a statement and an updated execution schedule, which changed the execution dates for 19 of 26 condemned prisoners who had scheduled dates between September 2017 and September 2020. The execution schedule for these 26 prisoners now extends through April 2022.

“Volunteer” refers to prisoners who have voluntarily waived their normal appeals (not necessarily that they have volunteered for execution).