Six Executions Set For November — An Unusual Uptick
UPDATE Nov. 29, 2022 | Five the six executions scheduled for November 2022 were carried out: Tracy Beatty in Texas on Nov. 9; Murray Hooper in Arizona on Nov. 16; Stephen Barbee in Texas on Nov. 16; Richard Fairchild in Oklahoma on Nov. 17; and Kevin Johnson in Missouri on Nov. 29.
Alabama’s planned execution of Kenneth Smith, originally scheduled for Nov. 17, was called off after a failed attempt by the state to establish venous access.
Nov. 2, 2022 | This month, there could be an unusual uptick in state executions — six lethal injections are currently scheduled across five states. This aggressive execution schedule is alarmingly out of step with national death penalty trends, which consistently show that executions and death sentencing rates are on the decline.
In response, Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) is urging people of goodwill to take action to oppose the planned executions of:
Tracy Beatty (Nov. 9, Texas)
Murray Hooper (Nov. 16, Arizona)
Stephen Barbee (Nov. 16, Texas)
Richard Fairchild (Nov. 17, Oklahoma)
Kenneth Eugene Smith (Nov. 17, Alabama)
Kevin Johnson (Nov. 29, Missouri)
“The fact that six lives could be lost to the death penalty this month should be of great concern to all Catholics,” said CMN Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy. “As a Church, we just recently celebrated Respect Life Month in October, and in September we received a global invitation from Pope Francis to mobilize against capital punishment. These calls to honor the sanctity of human life are sharply juxtaposed by the possible uptick in executions in November.”
Pope Francis’ call for global death penalty abolition was offered as his official prayer intention for the month of September. The Holy Father recorded a video of his prayer in which he urged all Catholics to “mobilize for the abolition of the death penalty throughout the world.”
The U.S. hasn’t executed six people in a single month since January 2015. Over each of the past eight years, the country has seen fewer than 30 annual executions — averaging 2.5 executions per month. New death sentences remain near historic lows, illustrating how capital punishment continues to fall out of favor with the American public.
The five states with executions scheduled in November represent a small handful of jurisdictions within the U.S. that are still attempting to carry out executions. Nationwide, 37 states have either outlawed the death penalty or otherwise have gone more than 10 years without an execution.
