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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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A series of executions are set to take place across the United States in the coming week.
Roy Ward’s execution in Indiana was the first of six scheduled to be carried out in six different states over eight days, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, before one inmate's execution was paused by a court.
Ward, 53, who was convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl, was put to death at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City early Friday.
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Why It Matters
Before Friday, there had already been 34 executions in the first nine months of 2025, more than in any year over the past decade. Florida has led the nation, executing a record 13 people so far this year. And the number of executions in 2025 is set to climb as at least eight more executions are scheduled to take place before the end of the year.
The increase after years of decline comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office seeking to expand the death penalty, and as some Republican-controlled state legislatures have pushed to expand the category of crimes punishable by death and the methods used to carry out executions.
What To Know
Two executions are scheduled for Tuesday: Lance Shockley in Missouri and Samuel Lee Smithers in Florida. If Smithers’ execution goes ahead as planned, it would be Florida’s 14th execution of the year.
On Wednesday, Charles Ray Crawford is scheduled to be put to death in Mississippi.
Robert Roberson had been scheduled to be executed in Texas on October 16, before Texas’ top criminal court paused the execution on Thursday. Richard Djerf is scheduled to be put to death in Arizona on October 17.
If Roberson's execution were to go ahead, he would be the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. He has maintained his innocence in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis, and lawyers and some medical experts say she died from complications related to pneumonia, not abuse.
Another two executions are scheduled to take place later this month: Anthony Todd Boyd in Alabama on October 23 and Norman Mearle Grim in Florida on October 28.
Harold Nichols is scheduled to be put to death in Tennessee on December 11.
Death penalty opponents say three of the men—Shockley, Roberson and Boyd—have strong claims of innocence.
The latest stay for Roberson comes a year after his execution was halted at the last minute by the Texas Supreme Court after a legal challenge from Texas lawmakers who say Roberson is innocent and his conviction was based on science that has been discredited.
What People Are Saying
Matt Wells, deputy director of Reprieve US, said in a statement to Newsweek: “Sprees like this were more common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when execution figures peaked, before their steady decline, as the horrific reality of the death penalty became better understood. The Trump administration has signaled, unequivocally, that it wants to return to those dark times, and now some executing states are rushing to fulfill its wishes, despite clear evidence that this haste and secrecy will result in more torturous executions.”
Ahead of Ward’s execution, Abraham Bonowitz, the executive director of Death Penalty Action, said in a statement to Newsweek: "Roy Ward can be held accountable and severely punished without executing him
"Governor Braun has until Thursday night at midnight Central Time to change his mind. We urge him to please show mercy by commuting Roy Ward's sentence of death by execution to one of death by incarceration. Mr. Ward has been expressing remorse for more than two decades. Especially during 'Respect Life Month,' we pray that the governor will let him die naturally in prison.”
Trump's executive order states: "Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens. Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes."
What’s Next
The next executions are scheduled to take place in Missouri and Florida on October 14.
Correction 10/13/25, 8:42 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to reflect Robert Roberson's stay of execution.
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