Even as the national and global trends remain overwhelmingly towards abolition of the death penalty, some states remain unapologetically emboldened, especially in the ex-Confederate states of the (Deep) South, to continue carrying out executions. Even with a few moments of good news—for example, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey granting clemency to Rocky Myers—the beginning of 2025 is unfortunately starting out like any other year when it comes to executions in the U.S.
Executions are, of course, always about individual human beings. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. For a government to intentionally take a life is a violation of human rights. Yet, the death penalty in this country remains one of the longest-running institutions in our society, initiating in colonial times (1600s), and resuming in 1976 after a 4-year hiatus. The execution of Gary Gilmore ushered in the modern execution era in the U.S., as he was shot to death in the Utah state penitentiary on January 17, 1977—the first after a hiatus, as states reviewed and amended their unlawful death penalty laws.
Since then, as of today, the country has carried out 1,613 executions through a variety of methods:
- electrocution (163)
- firing squad (4)
- gas chamber (11)
- hanging (3)
- lethal injection (1428)
- nitrogen hypoxia (4)
Except for the recent execution of Brad Sigmon in South Carolina earlier this month, all of the firing squad executions have been carried out in Utah, though other states either already have it as an option in their statutes or are seeking to employ that method. For instance, Arizona and Idaho have bills before their respective state legislatures to implement death sentences by shooting. The execution of Brad Sigmon was the first in the U.S. by firing squad in 15 years. South Carolina resumed executions in the modern era on January 11, 1985. The execution of Mr. Sigmon was the 2nd in that state this year, and the
47th overall.
Upcoming executions in the U.S.
Sigmon’s execution marked the beginning of a series of executions this month. Even after an execution in Texas scheduled for March 13 was stayed (for now at least), four other executions are scheduled to be carried out on the 18th in Louisiana, the 19th in Arizona, and 2 on the 20th, in Florida and Oklahoma. Thus, the US will have carried out nearly as many executions in 3 weeks in March than it did in January and February combined.
If carried out:
- The execution in Louisiana will be the first in the state since 2010. It will also mark the first time that using nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method will be used in a state other than Alabama. Louisiana resumed executions in the modern era on
December 14, 1983, and, if carried out, this execution will be the 29th in the state. While a federal court in Louisiana has provisionally stayed this execution from moving forward, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has been hostile to last-minute judicial interventions in capital cases. - Arizona plans to carry out its first execution since 2022, and it will be the 41st overall in that state, which initially resumed executions in the modern era on April 6, 1992.
- Florida plans to carry out its second execution this year, and the 108th overall since the state resumed executions in the modern era on May 25, 1979. The execution then of John Spenkelink marked the first national execution since that of Gary Gilmore more than two years earlier. Only Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma have carried out more executions than Florida in the modern era.
- Oklahoma’s first execution this year on the 20th follows the four that were carried out last year. This will mark the 128th person to be executed in Oklahoma since the state resumed the practice on September 10, 1990.
Progress, but not enough
Progress towards abolition has been frustratingly slow, but indeed steady over the last four decades, marked by such successes as the elimination of the death penalty for both those below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime for which somebody is accused and those with an intellectual disability.
Twenty-three states in the U.S., plus the District of Columbia, have abolished the death penalty. Many other states have not executed anybody for years. Last year, in a move toward ending the federal death penalty, then-President Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 men on federal death row, however leaving seven individuals still subject to sentence on federal and military death rows.
More must be done. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception—regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution. As abolitionists, we remain committed to working for the day when the USA joins the ranks of the majority of the countries in the world and pronounces itself to be death penalty-free.