So far this year, six men have been executed in the United States by court order, while 14 more individuals are on the execution schedule across eight states for the rest of 2025.
Next week, Arizona, Florida, and Oklahoma are anticipated to each carry out one execution. Alabama, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas also have scheduled executions, although Ohio’s governor frequently delays them as the dates approach.
Last Friday saw the most recent execution in the U.S., with Brad Sigmon, aged 67, executed by firing squad in South Carolina. Having killed the parents of his ex-girlfriend with a baseball bat in 2001, Sigmon was the first prisoner in the country in 15 years to be executed by this method, which he opted for over the electric chair or lethal injection. This made him the second inmate executed in South Carolina this year, following precedents set in Alabama, Florida, and Texas.
Should all the scheduled March executions proceed, the U.S. will have executed nine people in the year’s first quarter—a number not seen since between August and October 2024, when 10 executions occurred, as per the Death Penalty Information Center.
In Louisiana, an inmate’s planned execution via nitrogen gas on March 18 has been postponed by a federal judge’s order issued Tuesday. Similarly, a Texas man’s lethal injection slated for Thursday has been stayed by an appeals court.
Reviewing planned executions for the year, organized by state:
In Texas, Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, is scheduled for lethal injection on April 23. Convicted of strangling a young woman in 2004, he disposed of her body in a dirt pit before setting it ablaze. Matthew Johnson will face execution on May 20 for a fatal attack in 2012, involving setting a victim on fire. The state has already executed Richard Lee Tabler and Steven Lawayne Nelson this year, both for violent crimes.
Arizona plans to execute Aaron Gunches, 53, by lethal injection on Wednesday. Convicted for a 2002 murder, Gunches had refused to seek clemency. If carried out, it will mark Arizona’s first execution under a Democratic governor since 2017.
Oklahoma is set to execute Wendell Grissom, 56, on Thursday. Although his attorneys acknowledged his culpability, they emphasized his brain damage in their clemency plea, which was denied.
In Florida, Edward Thomas James, 63, is planned for execution Thursday, for crimes committed in 1993. Michael Tanzi awaits execution on April 8. Additionally, James Dennis Ford was executed earlier in February for a 1997 murder.
South Carolina has scheduled Mikal Mahdi’s death on April 11 for the murder of a police officer. He could choose between multiple methods of execution, noting the controversy surrounding the current protocols.
Alabama plans to execute James Osgood, 55, by lethal injection on April 24. The state also executed Demetrius Frazier by nitrogen gas in February.
Tennessee’s Supreme Court has slated four executions for the year, with Oscar Smith’s case drawing particular attention due to previous procedural oversights regarding lethal injection protocols.
Ohio has two executions on its docket for this year. However, Governor Mike DeWine has consistently deferred them and has expressed intent to avoid overseeing executions during his governorship, which extends through 2026.