Death Row: the Death Penalty and Executions

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South Carolina puts inmate Marion Bowman Jr. to death in state’s third execution since September

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina put a third inmate to death in four months Friday as it goes through a backlog of prisoners who exhausted their appeals while the state couldn’t find lethal injection drugs.

https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-execution-marion-bowman-lethal-injection-6ea9748c15f815e01249b6d706b0fb7e?

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Alabama set to execute a man with nitrogen gas for 1991 murder and rape

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A man convicted of murdering a woman after breaking into her apartment is set to be executed Thursday evening in Alabama in what would be the nation’s fourth execution with nitrogen gas.

https://apnews.com/article/alabama-execution-demetrius-frazier-nitrogen-gas-e1b391e1e157f2815be1baa248737778?

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After Nine Execution Dates and Three Last Meals, Richard Glossip May Soon Walk Free

After the Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard Glossip, his fate is in the hands of an Oklahoma City district attorney.

https://theintercept.com/2025/02/27/richard-glossip-supreme-court-execution-death-penalty/?

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Lethal injection, electrocution and now firing squads. A look at US execution methods South Carolina is preparing this week to execute a man by firing squad, a capital punishment method that hasn’t been used in the U.S. in nearly 15 years. Since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976, states have used five different execution methods: lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad and hanging. Read more.

What to know: Lethal injection has been the preferred method in the modern era, with 1,428 carried out since 1976. Texas has done the most, killing 593 inmates, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Twenty-eight states as well as the U.S. military and government authorize the use of lethal injection.   Nine states authorize the use of electrocution. Lethal gas is authorized as the default execution method in eight states. And five states authorize the use of firing squads.   In the U.S., hanging was the main method of execution until about the 1890s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. From 1608 to 2002 found 9,322 people were put to death by hanging.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ How South Carolina’s execution of a condemned killer by firing squad will unfold   Supreme Court won’t reimpose death sentence for a Utah man convicted of murder in 1985   Alabama governor commutes death row inmate Rocky Myers’ sentence to life in prison

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South Carolina inmate executed by firing squad for first time in US since 2010

A convicted double murderer has been executed by firing squad – the first such execution in the United States since 2010, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/us/brad-sigmon-south-carolina-firing-squad-execution/index.html?

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Violent and sudden. What a firing squad execution looked like through my eyes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — I’ve now watched through glass and bars as 11 men were put to death at a South Carolina prison. None of the previous 10 prepared me for watching the firing squad death of Brad Sigmon on Friday night.

https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-firing-squad-eyewitness-account-sigmon-427cccb55be58954af4434e89bcc41d8?

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Florida’s high court, federal appeals court refuse to block execution of Seminole killer

Edward James is set to be executed March 20 for the 1993 murders of woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/03/13/floridas-high-court-federal-appeals-court-refuse-to-block-execution-of-seminole-killer/?

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Louisiana puts man to death in state’s first nitrogen gas execution

ANGOLA, La. (AP) — Louisiana used nitrogen gas to put a man to death Tuesday evening for a killing decades ago, marking the first time the state has used the method as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus.

https://apnews.com/article/execution-louisiana-nitrogen-eb5e7e61ff0875dc7b68664b42b6e980?

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Florida man is executed for the killings of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs was executed Thursday evening.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-edward-james-double-murder-cf48b202419e6ee48fa9bc808965191d?

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‘I find it more humane’

South Carolina plans to execute a man for the murder of a police officer — by draping a hood over his head and firing three bullets into his heart. He chose to die by firing squad, and the antiquated execution method seems to be making a comeback.

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AP and others challenge an Indiana law barring reporters from witnessing executions

The Associated Press and four other media companies argue in a federal lawsuit that Indiana’s ban on reporters attending state-sanctioned executions violates the public’s constitutional right to an independent and unsanitized description of a sensitive and contentious government action.

https://apnews.com/article/indiana-death-penalty-executions-secrecy-news-media-e4f5e97a2d26a0663f202214954d197c?

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Florida set to execute suspected serial killer once eyed for possible link to the OJ Simpson case

A suspected serial killer once scrutinized for a possible link to the O.J. Simpson case that riveted the nation in the mid-1990s is scheduled to be executed Thursday in Florida for the murder of a woman in a Tampa motel room. Read More.

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Man executed for the 2000 killing of a police officer in Indiana’s second execution in 15 years

Michigan City, Indiana AP  — An Indiana man convicted in the fatal shooting of a police officer in 2000 was executed Tuesday by lethal injection in the state’s second execution in 15 years.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/us/indiana-benjamin-ritchie-execution

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A look at the status of US executions in 2025

Twenty-one men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. Two men were executed Tuesday evening in Florida and in Alabama. An Oklahoma man is scheduled to be put to death Thursday. Read More.

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Mississippi execution

A 79-year-old man who was convicted decades ago of kidnapping and murder was executed on Wednesday in Mississippi. Richard Gerald Jordan was sentenced to death in 1976 for kidnapping and killing Edwina Marter, a bank loan officer’s wife, in a violent ransom scheme. He was the longest-serving man on the state’s death row. “It should have happened a long time ago,” Eric Marter, son of the victim, told AP before the execution.

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Florida puts a man to death for killing 2 outside a bar, the 26th U.S. execution this year

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting two people outside a Florida bar in 1993 as part of an attempted revenge killing was executed Tuesday evening, the 26th person put to death in the U.S. this year.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/15/florida-puts-a-man-to-death-for-killing-2-outside-a-bar-the-26th-us-execution-this-year/?

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Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, with 3 set to die over next month

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — There are three executions set to take place in Florida over the next month, including a man convicted of fatally shooting three people and wounding another person, under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/29/florida-has-executed-more-people-than-any-other-state-this-year-with-3-set-to-die-over-next-month/?

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Tennessee death row inmate can be executed without deactivating implanted defibrillator, court rules

A Tennessee death row inmate can be executed without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, the state’s high court ruled on Thursday. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that requiring that the device be deactivated would effectively interfere with the execution, which the lower court does not have the power to do. Read More.

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Florida carries out record 9th execution of year on man convicted of killing wife and 2 children

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of the 1994 killings of his wife and their two children became the ninth person put to death in Florida this year, his death Thursday marking a state record for a single-year execution total since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty decades ago.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/31/florida-carries-out-record-9th-execution-of-year-on-man-convicted-of-killing-wife-and-2-children/

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Tennessee set to execute inmate without turning off his implanted defibrillator

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is set to execute a man Tuesday without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, as uncertainty lingers about whether the device will shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect.

https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-death-row-execution-byron-black-c5835d42a7cf2212c9713aaaf3156139?

Tennessee man noted intense pain during lethal injection without deactivating defibrillator

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two young daughters in the 1980s said he was “hurting so bad” while he was given a lethal injection Tuesday in Tennessee, where authorities had refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator despite claims it might cause unnecessary, painful shocks as the drugs were administered.

https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-execution-defibrillator-bd1c3d5fcc3dd78faf9fc3ba9a5c7aad?

Attorney says heart device did not shock Tennessee man in execution who said he was ‘hurting so bad’

A Tennessee man who said he was “hurting so bad” during his lethal injection this week for the 1980s killings of his girlfriend and her two young daughters was not shocked by his implanted defibrillator, his attorney said Friday. Read More.

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Extending the death penalty to this crime could put children in danger

A horrific crime leads to get-tough policies to ensure the tragedy never happens again.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/06/extending-the-death-penalty-to-this-crime-could-put-children-in-danger/?

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Death row inmate Tommy Zeigler wins new hearing

After nearly 50 years on Florida’s death row, convicted murderer Tommy Zeigler will get what his attorneys say is his last chance at winning freedom.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/13/death-row-inmate-tommy-zeigler-wins-new-hearing/?

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Man convicted of triple murders in Orlando area put to death in record 11th execution this year

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of killing his girlfriend, her mother and a man he claimed owed him $2,000 was put to death Thursday in a record 11th execution this year by the state of Florida.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/27/man-convicted-of-triple-murder-put-to-death-in-record-11th-execution-in-florida-this-year-2/

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Florida carries out record 12th execution this year on man convicted of killing wife’s family

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of killing his estranged wife’s sister and parents and setting their house on fire was put to death Wednesday evening in what was a record 12th execution in the state this year.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/17/florida-carries-out-record-12th-execution-this-year-on-man-convicted-of-killing-wifes-family/?

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Utah Was Shifting Away From the Death Penalty. Then Came Trump and Tyler Robinson.

The immediate calls for the execution of Charlie Kirk’s killer mark a resurgence of pro-death penalty politics in Utah and beyond.

https://theintercept.com/2025/09/18/charlie-kirk-death-penalty-tyler-robinson-utah/?