THE U.S. HAS ENTERED 260 DAYS WITHOUT A STATE EXECUTION, WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
The U.S. has entered the longest period without a state-sanctioned execution since 1979–1981
Billy Joe Wardlow received an injection of a lethal dose of Pentobarbital on July 8th, 2020 inside Texas’ execution chamber and was pronounced dead at 6:52 p.m. CST. Wardlow’s execution marked the last state-sanctioned execution before Donald Trump’s execution spree started. 6 days later, Daniel Lewis Lee was pronounced dead at 8:07 a.m. EST in the execution chamber used by the federal government.
Multiple executions were scheduled during the spree, but none were carried out. One notable case is that of Richard Moore. Moore is a death row inmate on South Carolina’s death row who was originally scheduled for execution on December 4th, 2020. On November 30th, the South Carolina Supreme Court granted Moore a stay.
Moore refused to choose a method by which he wanted to be executed since the state also reserves the electric chair, making the method default to lethal injection. The state did not have the drugs used in their authorized lethal injection protocol, so therefore the execution had to be stayed.
Just today, the country surpassed 260 days without an execution under the jurisdiction of a state. In an analysis done by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), it is the 4th longest interval in the modern era of America’s death penalty. This also exceeds the 224-day interval between Michael Richard’s execution in Texas on September 25th, 2007, and William Lynd’s execution in Georgia on May 6th, 2008.
BEFORE THE SPREE
The Coronavirus hit the U.S. back in January 2020 and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Executions were already on a decline and the pandemic continued it even more. Only 7 people were executed under the jurisdiction of a state before the spree started, and for the rest of the year. Compared to 2019’s total of 22, the number dropped.
Texas carried out 3 out of the 7 executions in states last year, making up almost 43% of 2020’s executions and the most in any state. Other states that participated in executions last year include Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee, all executing 1 inmate. Below are pie charts that I have compiled breaking down the percentage of executions carried out in 2020 according to Jurisdiction.
AFTER THE SPREE
After Dustin Higgs was executed on January 16th, March has become the second consecutive month this year without an execution under any jurisdiction. This happened after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay to Ramiro Rubi Ibarra who was scheduled to be executed in Texas on the 4th. There were 5 scheduled executions last month, all in different states. Alabama, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas all planned to execute a prisoner in February, but all were postponed. This month, there were 3 executions scheduled. 1 in Texas and 2 in Ohio
One person came really close to execution last month, however. Alabama scheduled the execution of Willie B. Smith, III for the 11th last month. Appeals lasted well into the night as both a stay and preliminary injunction were pending at the Supreme Court.
The stay was on the grounds of Smith’s Americans with Disabilities Act claim so that courts could consider it. The preliminary injunction was put in place because of religious freedom concerns as Alabama’s COVID-19 protocol for executions doesn’t permit a pastor in the execution chamber with an inmate. About 50 minutes before midnight, the Supreme Court came with an answer. They voted on lifting the stay but keeping the preliminary injunction in place. Smith was spared from execution.
Other death-row prisoners’ executions were called off at least a week before their executions.
THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2021
The next time a state intends to execute a prisoner is on April 20th when Texas plans to execute Ramiro Felix Gonzales. There are 6 more executions scheduled after Gonzales’, 3 in Texas and Ohio. For right now, it doesn’t look like Ohio will carry out the 3 executions considering Governor Mike DeWine stated back in December that there will be no executions in Ohio until lawmakers can devise an alternative method of execution. It’s currently not at top legislative priority so it probably won’t be solved soon.
The South Carolina senate recently voted to pass a bill that would force death row inmates to be executed by the electric chair, which is currently authorized as an alternative method if the inmate so chooses. There was an amendment to the bill that also passed stating that firing squad also be added as an alternative method. If the bill passes and is made law by Governor Henry McMaster, South Carolina could continue executions after 12 years.
It is still unknown if Ramiro Gonzales will be executed on April 20th since the last 2 scheduled Texas executions were stayed 1 week before the execution date. After 260 days without a state execution, it’s pretty safe to say that this year’s execution total will be lower than last year’s
