The most recent execution in the United States was Frank A. Walls in Florida in late 2025, marking the final execution of that year, while federal executions were halted by a moratorium until early 2025 when a new order reinstated the pursuit of the death penalty. Globally, jurisdictions like Somaliland and South Sudan also carried out executions in early 2025, though specific recent death sentences (rather than executions) vary by jurisdiction and are harder to pinpoint globally, with some countries abolishing it and others actively using it.
The last and most recent federal execution was of Dustin Higgs, who was executed on January 16, 2021. On July 1, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium on federal executions.
Definitions of execution. putting a condemned person to death. synonyms: capital punishment, death penalty, executing.
The record for the world's longest-serving death row inmate belongs to Iwao Hakamada of Japan, who spent nearly 50 years on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder before being acquitted in 2024 after a retrial revealed evidence tampering, highlighting a major wrongful conviction case. In the U.S., inmates like Gary Alvord and Brandon Jones also served exceptionally long periods, with Alvord spending almost 40 years before dying, and Jones serving over 36 years before execution, showing long stays are common but Hakamada's case is globally significant due to his exoneration.
As of 2025
23 states and Washington, D.C. have abolished the death penalty. 27 states, the federal government, and the U.S. military retain it. 3 states — California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania — maintain formal moratoriums.
KAZAKHSTAN and SIERRA LEONE abolished the death penalty for all crimes. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, and ZAMBIA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. ZIMBABWE abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
Around 2,100 prisoners currently face execution in the United States.
The shortest time on death row before execution in modern U.S. history, particularly in Texas, is Joe Gonzales, who spent 252 days (about 8 months) before his execution in 1996, while another notable short time was Steven Renfro at 263 days; these are significantly shorter than the average of over a decade, showcasing how quickly some cases can proceed due to streamlined appeals, though many cases take decades.
34 Several states have death row prisoners who have served more than three decades on death row; two decades on the row is not uncommon. Death row prisoners spend long periods of time on death row while pursuing their legal appeals, which is a time-consuming process.
If a stay of execution is granted in a civil case, the party receiving the stay usually must obtain a bond as security for reimbursing the opposing party if the grounds for the stay turn out to be baseless or the party causes unnecessary delays.
Job Execution refers to the process of running and completing scheduled tasks, ensuring they perform as expected.
Guillotin's main reason for this was that decapitation using the guillotine would be more humane. The inclined blade would fall so rapidly that death would be almost painless. This was not a new system of execution; it was already in use in other countries, be it with a straight or round blade.
Lethal injection is the most widely-used method of execution, but states still authorize other methods, including electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, and ring squad.
John Henry George "Babbacombe" Lee (15 August 1864 – 19 March 1945) was an Englishman famous for surviving three attempts to hang him for murder.
The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 202 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated.
Francis Clifford Smith is currently the oldest living prisoner still in jail. Smith is serving a life sentence at the Osborn Correctional Institution for murdering a night watchman named Grover Hart on July 23, 1949. At the time, he was only 23 years old and he has been in prison for 71 years.
Prisoners wait years for execution on death row and while waiting the prisoners go through painful isolation. They live in cells the size of parking spaces. Living in this kind of condition can amplify the effects of isolation. Most of the inmates stay in their cells for more than twenty hours a day.
The record for the world's longest-serving death row inmate belongs to Iwao Hakamada of Japan, who spent nearly 50 years on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder before being acquitted in 2024 after a retrial revealed evidence tampering, highlighting a major wrongful conviction case. In the U.S., inmates like Gary Alvord and Brandon Jones also served exceptionally long periods, with Alvord spending almost 40 years before dying, and Jones serving over 36 years before execution, showing long stays are common but Hakamada's case is globally significant due to his exoneration.
Which States Have Carried Out the Most Executions? Texas has been responsible for the most executions over recent years by far, with 593 since 1977 as of mid-February 2025. The states with the next-highest totals are Oklahoma (127), Virginia (113), Florida (107) and Missouri (101). Then-Democratic Gov.
While on death row, those serving capital sentences are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as many as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.
Seventeen prisoners were executed in the United States in 2020. Five states and the Federal Government carried out executions. An unexpected error occurred. If you continue to receive this error please contact your Tableau Server Administrator.
The death penalty can only be imposed on defendants convicted of capital offenses – such as murder, treason, genocide, or the killing or kidnapping of a Congressman, the President, or a Supreme Court justice. Unlike other punishments, a jury must decide whether to impose the death penalty.