List of people executed in the United States in 2026
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To date, sixteen people, all male, were executed in the United States in 2026, all by lethal injection.[1]
James Ernest Hitchcock, one of Florida's longest-serving prisoners on death row, was executed nearly 50 years after he was convicted of the 1976 rape and murder of his 13-year-old step-niece Cynthia Driggers.[2] Dusty Ray Spencer, who was convicted of the 1992 murder of his wife Karen Spencer, became the oldest person to be executed in Florida at the age of 74.[3]
Charles Lee Burton was originally scheduled to be executed in Alabama by nitrogen hypoxia on March 12, 2026. His death sentence was commuted to life without parole by Governor Kay Ivey just two days before his scheduled execution.[4]
Tony Von Carruthers, who was originally scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on May 21, 2026, received a one-year reprieve from Governor Bill Lee after complications with setting IV lines prior to the execution.[5]
Jeffery James Lee received a stay of his June 11, 2026, execution date after Lee succeeded in his lawsuit against nitrogen hypoxia, a secondary method of execution in Alabama that is available upon the request of the inmate. Attorney General Steve Marshall sought a new death warrant shortly thereafter that specified lethal injection, Alabama's primary method of execution, instead of nitrogen hypoxia.[6][7]
List of people executed in the United States in 2026
| No. | Date of execution | Name | Age of person | Gender | Ethnicity | State | Method | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At execution | At offense | Age difference | ||||||||
| 1 | January 28, 2026 | Charles Victor Thompson | 55 | 27 | 28 | Male | White | Texas | Lethal injection | [8] |
| 2 | February 10, 2026 | Ronald Palmer Heath | 64 | 37 | Florida | [9] | ||||
| 3 | February 12, 2026 | Kendrick Antonio Simpson | 45 | 25 | 20 | Black | Oklahoma | [10] | ||
| 4 | February 24, 2026 | Melvin Lee Trotter | 65 | 40 | Florida | [11] | ||||
| 5 | March 3, 2026 | Billy Leon Kearse | 53 | 18 | 35 | [12] | ||||
| 6 | March 11, 2026 | Cedric Allen Ricks | 51 | 38 | 13 | Texas | [13] | |||
| 7 | March 17, 2026 | Michael Lee King | 54 | 36 | 18 | White | Florida | [14] | ||
| 8 | April 21, 2026 | Chadwick Scott Willacy | 58 | 22 | 36 | Black | [15] | |||
| 9 | April 30, 2026 | James Ernest Hitchcock | 70 | 20 | 50 | White | [16] | |||
| 10 | James Garfield Broadnax | 37 | 19 | 18 | Black | Texas | [17] | |||
| 11 | May 14, 2026 | Raymond Eugene Johnson | 52 | 33 | 19 | Oklahoma | [18] | |||
| 12 | Edward Lee Busby Jr. | 53 | 31 | 22 | Texas | [19] | ||||
| 13 | May 20, 2026 | Leroy Dean McGill | 63 | 39 | 24 | White | Arizona | [20] | ||
| 14 | May 21, 2026 | Richard Andrew Knight Jr. | 47 | 21 | 26 | Black | Florida | [21] | ||
| 15 | June 2, 2026 | Andrew Richard Lukehart | 53 | 22 | 31 | White | [22] | |||
| 16 | June 25, 2026 | Dusty Ray Spencer | 74 | 39 | 35 | [23] | ||||
| Average: | 56 years | 28 years | 28 years | |||||||
Demographics
| Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 16 | 100% |
| Female | 0 | 0% |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Black | 9 | 56% |
| White | 7 | 44% |
| State | ||
| Florida | 9 | 56% |
| Texas | 4 | 25% |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 13% |
| Arizona | 1 | 6% |
| Method | ||
| Lethal injection | 16 | 100% |
| Month | ||
| January | 1 | 6% |
| February | 3 | 19% |
| March | 3 | 19% |
| April | 3 | 19% |
| May | 4 | 25% |
| June | 2 | 6% |
| July | 0 | 0% |
| August | 0 | 0% |
| September | 0 | 0% |
| October | 0 | 0% |
| November | 0 | 0% |
| December | 0 | 0% |
| Age | ||
| 30–39 | 1 | 6% |
| 40–49 | 2 | 13% |
| 50–59 | 8 | 50% |
| 60–69 | 3 | 19% |
| 70–79 | 2 | 6% |
| Total | 16 | 100% |