thegrimgavel.com

Daily roundup of U.S. death penalty news, compiled from the last 24–48 hours.

Pending Executions

Curtis Beasley — Florida, scheduled Sept. 29

Beasley, 77, is scheduled to be executed September 29 for a 1995 murder, Florida’s 17th execution this year under Gov. DeSantis, part of an unprecedented pace of death warrants. Source: DPIC.

Christa Pike — Tennessee, scheduled Sept. 30

Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, is set to be executed September 30. Her clemency petition, filed in early September, cites childhood trauma and alleged abuse; UN human rights experts have publicly urged the U.S. to halt the execution, and an amicus brief from trauma experts warns of a “substantial risk” of re-traumatization given her history. Source: OHCHR; DPIC.

Texas — second execution in same 2005 triple-murder case

Texas carried out a second execution this week tied to a 2005 triple killing, days after executing the co-defendant in the same case on September 16. Source: NBC News.

Stays & Reprieves

William Thompson — Florida, Oct. 13 date in doubt over competency

Thompson, 74, has spent nearly 50 years on Florida’s death row and is scheduled to die October 13 for a 1976 murder. His attorneys argue dementia and cognitive decline leave him unable to understand why he is being executed; Gov. DeSantis issued a temporary stay and appointed a three-doctor commission, which examined Thompson around October 1. Per DeSantis’s own executive order, the execution proceeds only if he determines Thompson is competent based on that report. Separate claims argue his physical condition, he is wheelchair-bound with an open wound and on a blood thinner, would make lethal injection extraordinarily painful, and that he was denied a proper clemency hearing. Source: NBC Miami; FADP.

Stacey Humphreys — Georgia, execution remains stayed; Dec. 8 arguments set

Humphreys’ execution, which was halted just hours before it was scheduled on September 16 to allow a hearing under Georgia’s new Survivor Justice Act, remains on hold. The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the stay and set oral arguments for December 8 to decide whether the trial court must hold the hearing on his claim. Source: 11Alive; Georgia Recorder.

Exonerations & Innocence Claims

Melissa Lucio — Texas, innocence finding reversed on appeal

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down a lower court’s 2024 finding that Lucio, who has spent 18 years on death row for the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter, is actually innocent, and that the state had suppressed evidence in her case. Source: Death Penalty News.

Other News

North Carolina inches toward resuming executions

After a roughly 20-year de facto moratorium, North Carolina lawmakers have advanced sweeping criminal-law legislation aimed at restarting executions in the state. No execution date has been set. Source: WRAL; DPIC.

Florida’s execution pace continues under DeSantis

Florida remains the national leader in executions this year, having set up a third execution in short order and carried out a double execution in a single day in July, including the oldest inmate ever executed in the state. Source: NBC Miami.

Alabama continues scheduling executions under Ivey

Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled a November execution for Michael Taylor, the latest in a steady run of death warrants this year; she also commuted one death sentence earlier in 2026 for a defendant who did not fire the fatal shot. Source: Alabama Reflector.

Iran — three more executed

Iranian authorities executed three prisoners, Emad Mirdoraghi, Mostafa Karimzadeh, and Seyed Sadegh Mousavi, in separate cases at prisons in Dezful, Isfahan, and Ahvaz, on murder or drug-related charges. Source: Death Penalty News.

Threads We’re Tracking

• William Thompson (FL): Execution temporarily stayed pending three-doctor competency evaluation; Oct. 13 date stands only if DeSantis finds him competent.
• Stacey Humphreys (GA): Stay upheld; Georgia Supreme Court arguments set for Dec. 8 on the Survivor Justice Act hearing question.
• Tiffany Moss (GA): No new developments; new-trial/status hearing remains set for Nov. 15.
• North Carolina moratorium: Legislature moving bills to restart executions; no date set yet.
• Florida (DeSantis) & Alabama (Ivey): Both governors continuing an active execution pace as they head into their final months in office (both leave in January 2027).