Twenty-four executions have been carried out in 2023 — five more than last year, the Death Penalty Information Center says. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans say the death penalty is applied unfairly.
In January, the Virginia Department of Corrections restricted public access to execution records. NPR is now publishing a selection of those secret files.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sought a pause in executions and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of the state's capital punishment system Monday after an unprecedented third failed lethal injection.
The state Supreme Court is temporarily blocking what was set to be South Carolina's first-ever firing squad execution. The planned April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore is now on hold.
Unable to obtain lethal injection drugs, some states have turned to outmoded alternatives, which also includes the electric chair, to execute prisoners on death row.
Willie B. Smith III's death by lethal injection in an Alabama prison is on hold after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered state officials to allow him to have his pastor with him when he dies.
Wesley Purkey was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, the second federal execution this week after a 17-year hiatus. The high court's 5-4 decision allowed the execution to proceed.
