Three Executions Scheduled Within 24 Hours Across US States
Georgia judge halts one execution, while Texas and Alabama proceed with scheduled deaths.
Two death row inmates are scheduled to be executed in Texas and Alabama within a 24-hour period this week, following a last-minute stay of execution for a third inmate in Georgia.
Texas was set to execute LeJames Norman on Wednesday, while Alabama plans to carry out the execution of Jeffery Lee on Thursday. Earlier, Georgia had scheduled the execution of Stacey Humphreys for Wednesday.
A judge in Cobb County, Georgia, issued a stay of execution for Humphreys late Tuesday, halting his scheduled death. Humphreys was convicted in the 2003 murders of two real estate agents. The stay means his execution cannot proceed unless it is lifted or overturned by a higher court.
Norman, 40, is scheduled to be executed in Texas for the 2005 triple murder of his neighbors during a robbery. Lee, 50, is scheduled for execution in Alabama for a double murder committed during a 1998 pawn shop robbery.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, having multiple executions scheduled so close together is uncommon. Executive Director Robin Maher noted that seven executions are scheduled for September, with the last time such a high number occurred in a single month being October of the previous year. In August of the current year, three executions took place on the same day.
"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," Maher told Fox News Digital. "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."
Earlier in the year, on August 13, three states—Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama—carried out executions on the same day, marking the first instance since January 7, 2010. In July, Florida conducted two executions in a single day, its first double execution in decades.
As of the current reporting, 25 executions have been carried out in the U.S. in 2026, with 14 more scheduled for the remainder of the year, though this number is subject to change. Last year saw 47 executions across 11 states, the highest number since 2009. Florida led in executions in the previous year with 19, followed by Texas with eight, Alabama with six, and South Carolina with five.
Maher attributed the increase in executions, particularly in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis, to a stated goal of setting a record for the number of executions during his term. Florida has maintained a pace of roughly one execution every two weeks.