Four Executions This Week Mark October’s Deadliest Month for US Death Penalty in 15 Years

Four men are set to be executed this week across four states—Missouri, Florida, Mississippi, and Arizona—in what is shaping up as the busiest month for the death penalty in the United States in nearly 15 years. If carried out as scheduled, these executions will contribute to a total of seven executions nationwide in October 2025 alone, part of a broader increase in executions this year, the highest annual total since 2014.

On Tuesday, two executions are planned within hours of each other: Lance Shockley in Missouri and Samuel Lee Smithers in Florida. The week continues on Wednesday with the execution of Charles Ray Crawford in Mississippi and concludes on Friday with Richard Djerf’s execution in Arizona. All executions will be conducted via lethal injection, the most commonly used method in the U.S.

Lance Shockley, 48, was convicted of murdering Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Carl “Dewayne” Graham Jr. in 2005. Shockley allegedly ambushed the officer, who was a 37-year-old father, and shot him in the back and head after he arrived home in Van Buren, Missouri. Shockley maintained his innocence for 20 years, with his lawyers seeking DNA testing on unexamined evidence, but the Missouri governor denied clemency and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals to delay the execution, which was carried out Tuesday evening.

Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, was executed in Florida for the 1996 murders of two Tampa sex workers, Denise Roach, 24, and Christy Cowan, 31. Smithers, a church deacon at the time, partially confessed to the killings, claiming disputes over money sparked the violence. Evidence showed he beat and strangled the women, dumped their bodies in a pond, and was found cleaning an axe near blood shortly after. Smithers declined a final statement and was pronounced dead via lethal injection Tuesday evening in Florida.

Charles Ray Crawford, 59, was executed Wednesday in Mississippi for the 1993 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 20-year-old Kristy Ray, a student at Northeast Mississippi Community College. Crawford broke into the Ray family’s home while out on bail for previous assaults, abducted Kristy from her bedroom, and left her body stabbed in nearby woods. His execution ended over 30 years on death row, following denial of clemency and stays by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

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Richard Djerf, 55, will be executed on Friday in Arizona for the 1993 murders of a Phoenix family of four—the parents Albert and Patricia Luna, their 17-year-old daughter Rochelle, and 5-year-old son Damien. Driven by revenge against his roommate, Albert Luna Jr., whom he believed had burglarized his home, Djerf bound, raped, and killed the victims in a brutal attack. He pleaded guilty and did not seek clemency. Djerf’s execution marks the second in Arizona this year.

These executions are part of a larger national surge, with 35 executions already carried out across the country in 2025, the highest annual total since 2014. Experts attribute the rise to political shifts under President Donald Trump’s administration, with states also expanding execution methods beyond lethal injection to nitrogen gas and firing squads in some cases. Florida leads with 14 executions this year, followed by Texas with five.

The death penalty remains a deeply controversial issue in the United States, with ongoing debates around legal fairness, innocence claims, and ethical considerations. Organizations like Amnesty International continue to oppose the death penalty unconditionally, emphasizing concerns over miscarriages of justice and the morality of state-sanctioned executions.

This week’s executions add to the historical context of capital punishment in America, underscoring a contentious chapter of the criminal justice system as the country experiences its busiest death penalty month in nearly a decade and a half.