Missouri and Texas reignited the national death penalty debate by executing two inmates on Tuesday.
At a Glance
- Death row inmates in five states are scheduled for execution within one week, an unusually high number.
- The U.S. will reach 1,600 executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 if the week’s executions are completed.
- The first execution in South Carolina took place on Friday after a 13-year hiatus.
- Marcellus Williams and Travis Mullis were executed in Missouri and Texas, respectively.
- Executions in Alabama and Oklahoma are planned, which would mark the most executions in a week since 2003.
Missouri and Texas Executions
Marcellus Williams, a 55-year-old man from Missouri, was executed for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle. Appeals citing possible procedural errors failed, and his clemency request was denied. In Texas, 38-year-old Travis Mullis faced capital punishment for the brutal 2008 assault on his infant son, Alijah. Mullis, who had a history of mental illness, waived his right to appeal, resulting in his execution on Tuesday evening.
Oklahoma and Alabama are also in the spotlight with scheduled executions, contributing to an unprecedented series of events in the normally gradual pace of capital punishment enforcement. Alan Miller, set to be executed in Alabama, will undergo nitrogen gas execution—an unusual method to be employed for only the second time in U.S. history. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Littlejohn is scheduled for execution in Oklahoma for his role in a 1992 robbery and shooting.
If the executions of #MarcellusWilliams in Missouri and #TravisMullis in Texas proceed as scheduled today, please join us in community. Register for the Zoom audience at https://t.co/ln5F5uwaZd or tune in live on our Facebook, Youtube, or Twitter pages. #StopExecutions @madpmo pic.twitter.com/MVNfvHlkls
— Death Penalty Action (@DeathPenaltyAct) September 24, 2024
South Carolina’s Resumption
Freddie Owens was executed in South Carolina last Friday, marking the state’s first use of capital punishment in 13 years, driven by past difficulties in obtaining the necessary lethal drugs. Owens was put to death for a killing that occurred in 1997. This execution is part of a series that defies the recent trend of decline in the death penalty’s use and public support in the United States.
“Two on a single day is unusual, and four on two days in the same week is also very unusual,” Maher said.
If the remaining executions in Alabama and Oklahoma proceed as planned, this set of capital punishments will mark the first time since July 2003 that five executions took place within such a short span—seven days. The U.S. will thereby reach 1,600 executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, a grim milestone that has reignited debates nationwide.
In a matter of minutes, the executions of #TravisMullis and #MarcellusWilliams are expected to begin in Texas and Missouri.
Please join us in praying for every person who is impacted by this execution.
— Catholic Mobilizing Network (@CMNEndtheDP) September 24, 2024
Coincidence or Trend?
Experts argue that the cluster of executions this week is more likely a coincidence than a planned rise in capital punishments. Many of these cases exhausted all legal appeals simultaneously, leading to the current spike in scheduled executions. Factors like difficulties in procuring lethal drugs and moratoriums due to botched executions have historically caused backlogs in death row cases.
“I’m not aware of any reason other than coincidence,” said Eric Berger, a law professor at the University of Nebraska.
Despite legal and ethical battles, these states are moving forward with their planned executions. This spate of lethal enforcements has stirred up the long-standing ethical debate over the death penalty in the United States, bringing core issues of justice and human rights back into the public eye.
