Twenty-three people, all male, were executed in the United States in 2017, all by lethal injection. The state of Arkansas executed four people in April, ending a hiatus on executions in the state that had lasted for over 11 years. However, the state has not executed anyone since. Virginia conducted its final two executions in 2017, with the state having since abolished capital punishment in 2021.
List of people executed in the United States in 2017 Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method At execution At offense Age difference 1 January 11, 2017 48 37 11Male White TexasLethal injection "Inmate Information Christopher Wilkins", Texas Department of Criminal Justice 2 January 18, 2017 39 28 Black Virginia 3 January 26, 2017 43 15 Texas "Inmate Information Terry Edwards", Texas Department of Criminal Justice 4 January 31, 2017 37 18 19 White Missouri 5 March 7, 2017 44 20 24 HispanicTexas "Inmate Information Rolando Ruiz Jr.", Texas Department of Criminal Justice 6 March 14, 2017 61 32 29 White "Inmate Information James Bigby", Texas Department of Criminal Justice 7 April 20, 2017 51 27 24 BlackArkansas 8April 24, 2017 52 30 22 White 9 46 24 Black 10 April 27, 2017 38 20 18 11 May 17, 2017 45 25White Georgia 12 May 26, 2017 75 40 35Alabama 13 June 8, 2017 46 22 24 Black 14 July 6, 2017 35 24 11White Virginia 15 July 26, 2017 43 19 24 Ohio 16 July 27, 2017 46 33 13 Black Texas 17 August 24, 2017 53 23 30White Florida 18 September 13, 2017 45 20 25 Ohio 19 October 5, 2017 57 22 35 Florida 20 October 12, 2017 38 20 18 Texas 21 October 19, 2017 40 20 Black Alabama 22November 8, 2017 53 26 27 White Florida 23 47 21 Hispanic Texas Average: 47 years 25 years 22 years
Demographics Gender Male 23 100% Female 0 0% Ethnicity White 13 56% Black 8 35% Hispanic 2 9% State Texas 7 30% Arkansas 4 17% Alabama 3 13% Florida 3 13% Ohio 2 9% Virginia 2 9% Georgia 1 4% Missouri 1 4% Method Lethal injection 23 100% Month January 4 17% February 0 0% March 2 9% April 4 17% May 2 9% June 1 4% July 3 13% August 1 4% September 1 4% October 3 13% November 2 9% December 0 0% Age 30–39 5 22% 40–49 11 48% 50–59 5 22% 60–69 1 4% 70–79 1 4% Total 23 100%
Executions in recent years Number of executions 2018 25 2017 23 2016 20 Total 68
Double execution in Arkansas
On April 24, 2017, Arkansas carried out back-to-back executions. Convicted rapist and serial killer Jack Harold Jones, age 52, was pronounced dead at 7:20 pm Monday. Approximately three hours later, convicted rapist and murderer Marcel Williams, age 46, was pronounced dead at 10:33 pm. Jones was sentenced to death for the 1995 rape and murder of Mary Phillips (August 18, 1959 – June 6, 1995) and the near-fatal assault of her then-10-year-old daughter, Lacy Phillips (born July 9, 1984), during a botched robbery in Bald Knob, Arkansas. Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and murder of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.
The last double execution in Arkansas was on September 8, 1999. By conducting the double execution in 2017, Arkansas became the first U.S. state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day in 17 years. The last state to do so was Texas, which executed two murderers in August 2000. Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014 but scrapped plans for the second one after the first (the execution of Clayton Lockett) went awry.
Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.
See also List of death row inmates in the United States List of juveniles executed in the United States since 1976 List of most recent executions by jurisdiction List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States List of women executed in the United States since 1976
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