Multiple Executions Scheduled Within 24 Hours Across US
A convergence of scheduled executions in different states highlights an unusual period for capital punishment in the United States.
Multiple executions are scheduled to take place in the U.S. within a 24-hour period this week, a rare occurrence that legal experts note is not common. Texas and Georgia had each planned to execute a prisoner within an hour of each other on Wednesday, though a judge later issued a stay for the Georgia execution. Alabama is slated to carry out an execution on Thursday.
In Georgia, 53-year-old Stacey Humphreys was scheduled for execution on Wednesday for the 2003 murders of two real estate agents. However, a Cobb County judge stayed his execution late Tuesday, preventing it from proceeding unless the stay is lifted or overturned. Approximately one hour after Humphreys' execution was initially set, Texas planned to execute 40-year-old LeJames Norman for the 2005 triple murder of his neighbors during a robbery.
On Thursday, Alabama intends to execute 50-year-old Jeffery Lee for a double murder committed during a 1998 pawn shop robbery.
"It's not very common to have this many executions just across a couple of days," Robin Maher, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told Fox News Digital. Maher noted that seven executions are scheduled for September, a number not seen in a single month since 2010. "This is an unusual year in that we're seeing occurrences like a number of executions scheduled on the same day or during the same month. But there's no evidence there's any coordination among the states to have all these executions occur simultaneously. This looks largely to be a coincidence."
This week's planned executions follow a recent increase in capital punishment activity. On August 13, three states—Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama—carried out executions on the same day, the first such occurrence since January 7, 2010. Earlier this year, on July 28, Florida conducted two executions on the same day, marking the state's first double execution in decades.
As of this week, 25 executions have been carried out in the U.S. in 2026, with 14 more scheduled for the remainder of the year. Last year saw 47 executions across 11 states, the highest number since 2009. Florida led the nation in executions in 2025 with 19, and has already carried out 15 in 2026, accounting for 60% of the national total this year. The state has maintained an accelerated pace under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, with executions scheduled roughly every two weeks.
Following Florida, Texas has carried out eight executions (five in 2025, three in 2026), Alabama has executed six (five in 2025, one in 2026), and South Carolina has executed five inmates, all in 2025. Florida currently accounts for approximately 47% of the nation's executions in 2025 and 2026 combined.
Two executions remain scheduled in Florida for the rest of 2026: Curtis Beasley, 77, on September 29 for a 1995 murder, and William Lee Thompson, 74, on October 13 for a 1976 murder. Maher anticipates that while there are still open warrants for this year, the total number of executions in 2026 may not reach the high seen in 2025.