Stays of Execution 2022

Date of Scheduled Execution State Prisoner Reason for Stay
January
6OKWade LaySTAY GRANTED by the Pittsburg County District Court on December 6, 2021 until a mental competency trial is conducted “so as to ensure an incompetent person is not irreparably harmed by way of execution, in contravention of his constitutional rights.”
12OHWarren “Keith” HennessREPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on September 10, 2021 and execution rescheduled for December 17, 2024.
27ALMatthew ReevesPreliminary injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on January 7, 2022 barring the Alabama Department of Corrections “from executing [Reeves] by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia before his [Americans With Disabilities Act] claim can be decided on its merits.” Preliminary injunction affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on January 26, 2022. INJUNCTION VACATED by 5-4 vote of U.S. Supreme Court on January 27, 2022. EXECUTED.
February
16OHStanley AdamsREPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on September 10, 2021 and execution rescheduled for February 19, 2025.
March
8TXMichael GonzalesSTAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on March 3, 2022 to permit Gonzales to litigate claims that “(1) he is intellectually disabled and cannot constitutionally be executed; (2) the State
suppressed material exculpatory and impeaching information in violation of Brady v. Maryland.”
10OKJames Allen CoddingtonSTAY GRANTED by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on December 23, 2021 pursuant to joint stipulation of the parties after the order dismissing Coddington from the ongoing Oklahoma lethal-injection lawsuit was vacated and he was restored as a plaintiff in that lawsuit.
16OHRomell Broom DIED ON DEATH ROW on December 28, 2020 of COVID-19.
April

21

OHJohn DrummondREPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on September 10, 2021 and execution rescheduled for April 16, 2025.
21TNOscar SmithREPRIEVE granted by Governor Bill Lee minutes before the scheduled execution on April 21, 2022: “Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol. Further details will be released when available.”
27TXMelissa LucioSTAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 25, 2022 and case remanded to the trial court to conduct a hearing on Lucio’s claims that “but for the State’s use of false testimony, no juror would have convicted her; previously unavailable scientific
evidence would preclude her conviction; she is actually innocent; [and] … the State suppressed favorable, material evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland.” (claim numbers omitted)
29SCRichard Moore STAYED for an indefinite period by the South Carolina Supreme Court on April 20, 2022, with as yet unreleased explanatory order to follow.
May
10TNMichael RimmerLegally premature death warrant STAYED
13SCBrad SigmonSTAYED by South Carolina Supreme on April 22, 2022.
17GAVirgil Presnell, Jr.STAYED by the Fulton County Superior Court on May 16, 2022 on the grounds that the execution date violated an agreement that established conditions under which executions could resume after the pandemic.
18OH
James HannaREPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on September 10, 2021 and execution rescheduled for May 14, 2025.
June
9TNHarold NicholsREPRIEVED by Governor Bill Lee on May 2, 2022 to conduct investigation of execution protocol oversight
July
13TXRamiro GonzalesSTAY GRANTED by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on July 11, 2022 to permit Gonzales to litigate a claim that his death sentence was obtained through the presentation of false expert testimony concerning his alleged future dangerousness.
20OHAustin Myers DATE REMOVED
August

18

TNByron BlackREPRIEVED by Governor Bill Lee on May 2, 2022 to conduct investigation of execution protocol oversight
September

14

OHJames TenchLegally premature death warrant. STAY GRANTED by the Ohio Supreme Court on August 26, 2020 pending disposition of state postconviction remedies available to all Ohio prisoners. “The stay shall remain in effect until exhaustion of all state postconviction proceedings, including any appeals.”
15OHKareem Jackson REPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on May 13, 2022 and execution rescheduled for December 10, 2025.
22ALAlan Eugene MillerEXECUTION HALTED by Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm shortly before midnight (Central Time) on September 22, 2022 when the execution team reported that it would not be able to set an IV line before the death warrant expired.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama had issued a preliminary injunction on September 19, 2022 enjoining Alabama “from executing Alan Eugene Miller by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia.” On the afternoon of September 22, 2022, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit by a 2-1 vote denied the motion to stay injunction filed by the state attorney general. At about 9:15 p.m. Central time, the Supreme Court VACATED THE INJUNCTION without opinion by a 5-4 vote, leaving Alabama approximately 2½ hours to carry out the execution before the warrant expired.
October
6TNGary SuttonREPRIEVED by Governor Bill Lee on May 2, 2022 to conduct investigation of execution protocol oversight
17TNUrshawn MillerLegally premature death warrant. REPRIEVED by Governor Bill Lee on May 12, 2022 until December 31, 2022.
26OHQuisi BryanREPRIEVED by Governor Mike DeWine on June 24, 2022 and execution rescheduled for January 7, 2026.
November
16TXStephen BarbeeThe United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted Barbee a preliminary injunction on November 3, 2022 on religious rights grounds. The injunction was vacated on November 14th. On November 15, the district court granted an amended preliminary injunction. On November 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit VACATED the amended preliminary injunction.
17ALKenneth SmithEXECUTION HALTED shortly before midnight (Central Time) on November 17, 2022 when the execution team reported that it would not be able to set an IV line before the death warrant expired.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted Smith a stay of execution on November 17, 2022 as a result of Smith’s challenge to Alabama’s execution protocol. The United States Supreme Courtvacated the stay.
December

8

TNDonald MiddlebrooksREPRIEVED by Governor Bill Lee on May 2, 2022 to conduct investigation of execution protocol oversight
8OKRichard GlossipREPRIEVED by Governor Kevin Stitt on November 3, 2022 “to allow time for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to address pending legal proceedings,” and execution rescheduled for February 16, 2023.
15OKJohn HansonWARRANT EXPIRED. Oklahoma scheduled John Hanson’s execution while he was in federal custody, without first obtaining agreement his custody would be transferred. The Federal Bureau of Prisons subsequently denied Oklahoma’s demand to transfer custody prior to completion of Hanson’s federal sentence. Oklahoma postponed Hanson’s clemency hearing, a prerequisite to his execution, and a federal district court ruled against Oklahoma’s effort to force BOP to turn over Hanson for execution, causing his execution warrant to expire.
15IDGerald Pizzuto, Jr.WARRANT EXPIRED. The Idaho Department of Corrections announced on November 30, 2022 that it had been unable to obtain the lethal injection drugs necessary to carry out the execution and that it would allow Pizzuto’s death warrant to expire.