Death row executions nearly doubled this year compared to last in a rise driven largely by one state — Florida. On Thursday night, Florida executed its 19th person on death row this year, more than doubling the state’s previous annual record. Frank Walls was executed by lethal injection for the 1987 murders of two people during a home invasion. Walls is the 47th person to be executed on death row this year. Death penalty executions had been dwindling across the nation since the turn of the century. The last time there were this many executions in a single year was in 2010, when 46 were executed. Florida executed just one person last year, but this year it is responsible for 40% of the nation’s executions. No state has executed this many people since 24 were executed in Texas in 2009. The decision to schedule and move forward with executions rests solely on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. When asked about the increase in executions at an unrelated news conference , DeSantis said that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process. DeSantis took office in 2019 and issued two death warrants in 2019, six in 2023, one in 2024 and now 19 this year. “My advice to those who are seeking to avoid the
