Death row arkansas. From 1976, the year the U. Eric In 2017, Arkansas executed four condemned men ahead of the expiry of a batch of lethal injection drugs. Ten Arkansas death row prisoners filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a judge to block a new state law that authorizes execution by nitrogen gas, which they argue is unconstitutional. Ward was on death row for 35 years after being As of June 2025, Arkansas’s death row houses 24 inmates, all men, convicted of capital murder and awaiting execution at the Varner SuperMax Unit in Gould, about 67 miles south of Little Rock. Don Davis was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of a woman during a robbery. At that point, Arkansas had not executed anyone since Charles Fields in 1964. Several Arkansas death row inmates have sued the state to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives officials broad authority to decide how they should die. The State of Arkansas uses lethal injection for their executions. Ten inmates filed the lawsuit in state court challenging the law signed this year by Republican [] Robert Holland was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for a prison murder. When he was sentenced in 1993, Reams was the youngest person to [9] While awaiting execution on Arkansas' death row, Jones's DNA was entered into CODIS, the nationwide DNA database. com/thv11 Ten Arkansas death row inmates filed a lawsuit against the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas. According to court documents Robert Holland was serving a life sentence Ten inmates on Arkansas' Death Row have filed a lawsuit to block the state's use of nitrogen gas for executions, arguing that it is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers. Reams received the death penalty while his co-defendant – who was the shooter in this case – was allowed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Arkansas became the fifth state to permit this form of execution when state lawmakers approved Act 302 in March. In December 1993, Kenneth Reams was sentenced to die for a murder another man admitted committing. The law, signed this year by Gov. THORNTON) Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials unconstitutionally broad authority to decide how they should die. Findlaw explains Arkansas' death penalty laws, including a list of capital crimes and a history of the death penalty in the state. There are currently 25 inmates on Arkansas’s death row and all have been convicted of capital murder. Subscribe: https://youtube. A second test was conducted at the state crime lab in Arkansas, which conclusively proved that Jack Jones was the perpetrator. Arkansas became Arkansas executed convicted killer Kenneth Williams on Thursday, who was the fourth inmate put to death in the state in a little more than a week. (AP) — Bruce Ward, a convicted murderer who was the longest-serving inmate on Arkansas' death row, has died, the state Department of Corrections said. PINE BLUFF, Ark. He then shot and killed another Arkansas could be the next state to put a person to death using nitrogen gas. 1913– Arkansas replaces hanging with electrocution as its method of execution. Benton County last had a murderer executed in August 1996 when Frankie Parker was put to death for killing his former in-laws and holding his ex-wife hostage in 1984 in An in-depth photo essay of when Arkansas attempted to execute eight death row prisoners in the span of 10 days. Johnson was previously serving a life sentence Hood says witnessing executions makes him feel 'like a murderer' In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that spiritual advisers must be allowed into execution chambers if death row inmates want them. In the eyes of Arkansas law, an accomplice to a felony resulting in murder is as culpable as the murderer The Arkansas Supreme Court imposes a stay on executions while evaluating the constitutionality of the 2013 secrecy law. The execution spree, scheduled to consist of four sets of double executions, was the first time Arkansas had conducted executions since 2005. The state of Arkansas plans to execute seven death-row inmates between Monday and the end of the month. Originally sentenced to life without parole in Arkansas for killing a University of Arkansas pre-med student and cheerleader in 1998, Williams escaped from prison in a 500-gallon barrel of pig slop in 1999. 2016 – Arkansas Supreme Court upholds Arkansas secrecy law. But what is the most common last word of the people executed? "Love. Supreme Court declines to review Arkansas death-row prisoners’ challenge to the state’s execution protocol. Ten inmates filed the lawsuit in state court challenging the law signed this Penalties for Capital Murder The penalties for capital murder in Arkansas are among the harshest, reflecting the seriousness of the crime. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials Ricky Ray Rector (January 12, 1950 – January 24, 1992) was an American convicted murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas. Ten inmates on Arkansas' Death Row have filed a lawsuit to block the state's use of nitrogen gas for executions, arguing that it is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers. Tuesday LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Eric Reid was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murders of his wife and daughter. (KAIT) - Arkansas’s longest-standing death row inmate has died. The Arkansas Learn more about Executions from 1913 until present day within the Arkansas Department of Corrections here. Upon conviction, the court typically imposes one of two sentences: life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty. Death penalty opponents fear inevitable botched executions in Arkansas with the rush. He was sentenced to death for murder despite another person confessing to committing the crime, clear-cut jury discrimination, and his appointed defense counsel providing extremely ineffective assistance in preparing and arguing his case. The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of the execution method. In April 2017, the state planned to execute eight death row inmates before the stocks of the sedative midazolam expired at the end of April, but ultimately only four were put to death that month. Currently, 26 individuals from across the state await their fate within the lethal injection chamber at Varner Super Max in Grady. According to court documents Eric Reid was involved with an argument with his wife after they returned from eating out. On March 18 Gov. Bruce Ward was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of a store clerk. state of Arkansas since 1976, Scotty Gardner, an admitted murderer, has asked the state of Arkansas to restart executions to complete his death sentence. That law, Act 302 of 2025, takes Ten Arkansas death row prisoners filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a judge to block a new state law that authorizes execution by nitrogen gas, which they argue is unconstitutional. An Arkansas inmate who spent more than a decade on death row died on Friday afternoon from an unknown cause, according to a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials unconstitutionally broad authority to decide how they should die. — Latavious Johnson, a 43-year-old death row inmate, died on Friday, June 6, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. S. According to court documents Mickey Thomas who was in the middle of a crime spree would A man held on Arkansas's death row after being convicted of a 1993 quadruple murder in Jacksonville died in prison Thursday, an Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson said. " Ten Arkansas death row prisoners filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a judge to block a new state law that authorizes execution by nitrogen gas, which they argue is unconstitutional. Kenneth Williams, 38, killed two people after escaping from a maximum-security LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Among the counties contributing to this grim roster from the Today in Fort Smith primary readership area are Sebastian, Johnson, Polk Bruce Ward, Arkansas’ longest-serving death row inmate, died Tuesday, the state Department of Corrections announced. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. According to court documents the victim, sixty seven year old Mattie Basinger, was found dead in her home. The expedited schedule was set in a rush to use the state’s In 2017, the state of Arkansas announced a frenzied pace of executions — planning eight in 11 days — beginning with Ledell Lee, who insisted until his death by lethal injection that "I am an Learn more information for and about the inmates with in the Arkansas Division of Correction including death row, commissary lists and more. 1820– First known execution in Arkansas, Thomas Dickinson hung for murder. (AP) — Bruce Ward, a convicted murderer who was the longest-serving inmate on Arkansas’ death row, has died, the state Department of Corrections said. He was 68. The U. May 31, 2025 The following is a list of people executed by the U. Scotty Ray Gardner sits on Arkansas' death row for the 2016 murder of Susan Stubbs, a crime that exposed his long history of violence. The longest-standing inmate on Arkansas’ death row, Ward was convicted and received a death sentence in October of 1990 following the 1989 death of Rebecca Doss. The law took effect Tuesday. A week ago, Arkansas planned to execute seven men in 11 days. Hood also explained how the execution methods can occur without causing other complications. Arkansas Department Of Corrections list their death row inmates by time spent on death row with the longest listed first. In each of the 10 cases, jurors, having found the person guilty of capital murder, were given the choice of life without Jack Greene was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of a retired pastor. Years later, in 2003, it was matched to the DNA evidence of the Lori Barrett case. The longest-standing inmate on Arkansas' death row has died of natural causes. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Act 302 into law, which allows nitrogen hypoxia to be used to kill death row The introduction of nitrogen gas as a method of execution comes as the death penalty has become something of a dead letter in Arkansas, primarily because the state is having trouble acquiring the The Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the media, policymakers, and the general public There have been at least three death penalty volunteers in Arkansas: Ronald Gene Simmons, Christina Marie Riggs, and Clay King Smith. Kenneth Dewayne Williams (February 23, 1979 – April 27, 2017) [1] was an American serial killer who killed four people in Arkansas and Missouri. The longest-standing death row inmate in Arkansas has died while in a state prison, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas has not had an execution since 2017, when it put four people to death before a sedative used in its lethal injection protocol expired. Bruce Earl Ward was found guilty in 1990 of the strangulation death of 18-year-old convenience store clerk Rebecca Mickey Thomas was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of two women during a robbery. On August 5, 2025, a group of ten Arkansas death-sentenced prisoners filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that authorizes their LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment, no state has executed so . Sarah Huckabee Sanders legalizes controversial nitrogen gas execution method Sanders signed the law hours before Louisiana executed its first inmate with the nitrogen gas method on Bruce Ward, a convicted murderer who was the longest-serving inmate on Arkansas' death row, has died, the state Department of Corrections said. The Arkansas Department of Corrections also has a listing that combines the two along Nitrogen Executions Arkansas - (STEPHEN B. Upon his sentencing in 1993, Reams became the youngest person to enter death row in Arkansas at the age of 18. 1967– Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller declares a moratorium on executions 1970 – Governor Rockefeller grants clemency to all 15men on deat Death Row Inmates File Lawsuit Against New Arkansas Execution Procedure Download DOC LITTLE ROCK – Earlier this year the legislature approved Act 302 to allow A group of inmates on death row in Arkansas filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new state law allowing the use of nitrogen gas in executions. As we face these oncoming eight executions in Arkansas, there's no final word on the death penalty and the debate continues about the humanity of death sentences. According to court documents Bruce Ward would enter a convenience store where he would sexually assault the teenager clerk A bill that would allow Arkansas to execute prisoners using nitrogen gas will be reviewed by the state House Judiciary Committee Thursday. The Archive’s records end in 1964 while the Death Penalty Information Center has information from 1977 forward. He cited concerns raised about the executions LITTLE ROCK, Ark. After killing a man in a restaurant and Mr. This year, with more drugs set to expire, campaigners fear another 'mass execution' Arkansas Gov. (KNWA/KFTA) — The longest-standing death row inmate in Arkansas has died while in a state prison, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas currently has 25 people on death row. According to court documents Jack Greene was confronted by the retired pastor regarding an arson in the preceding days. The state Department of Corrections said Ward was pronounced dead Tuesday from natural causes. List of death row inmates in the United StatesAs of April 1, 2025, there were 2,067 death row inmates in the United States, including 46 women. Georgia, all people then on death row in the country had their sentences automatically commuted to life imprisonment. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, grants LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials Ten Arkansas death row inmates filed a lawsuit against the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas. Officials said Bruce Earl The Arkansas Parole Board on Monday released recommendations denying clemency for two death-row inmates and heard arguments on whether a third death-row inmate should be executed. Ledell Lee was put to death late Thursday, and three more men are scheduled to be executed. The Arkansas Department of Corrections announced Bruce Ward died of natural causes around 4:30 p. The state A rundown of the execution of Arkansas death row inmate Kenneth Williams as told by state authorities and media witnesses. – A filing in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Tuesday shows 10 inmates on Arkansas’ Death Row are suing to block the state’s use of nitrogen gas for executions. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials unconstitutionally broad authority to Several Arkansas death row inmates have sued the state to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas. The state’s death row The death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty after a short-lived prohibition, to April 1, 2022, a total of 31 state The death penalty was practiced in Arkansas even before the state was admitted to the Union in 1836, with the first legally sanctioned execution reportedly occurring at Arkansas Post in 1820. Billy Thessing was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of an elderly woman. Arkansas death row inmate Latavious Johnson died of unknown causes at the Varner SuperMax prison on Friday afternoon, according to the state’s department of corrections. According to court documents Don Davis broke into the victims home and in the process of robbing her would shoot the Arkansas currently has 25 people on death row. The longest-serving prisoner on Arkansas’s Death Row died Tuesday of natural causes at the Varner SuperMax unit in Lincoln County, the Arkansas Department of Corrections announced yesterday This is a complete list of all inmates executed in Arkansas since the reinstatement of the Death Penalty in 1976. The Arkansas Department LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The Arkansas Division of Correction provides fair, firm, consistent and superior correctional services as mandated by the courts. The woman Jeff Rosenzweig, an attorney who has represented death row inmates in Arkansas, said nitrogen hypoxia is still going to face legal challenges in the state. Death sentences are typically handed down by a jury, and due in part to a lengthy appeals process and a shortage of lethal injection drugs, prisoners often spend years or decades on death row before sentencing is carried out. State lawmakers on Tuesday sent a bill to the governor’s desk that would allow executions by nitrogen gas in Arkansas. The state Department The state of Arkansas has a storied history with its criminal justice system, particularly concerning its death row inmates. Kenneth Williams More News Arkansas has put to death its fourth inmate within a week after a dozen years without a single execution. He had been held on death row at the Varner SuperMax unit in Gould, After the natural passing of 35-year Arkansas death row inmate Bruce Earl Ward, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is sharing his thoughts as the person who set his execution date eight years Justin Anderson was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for the murder of an elderly woman. A three-judge panel rejected arguments from Arkansas state officials that they could not be sued by a prisoner on death row, Stacey Eugene Johnson. [1] The number of death row inmates changes frequently with new convictions, appellate decisions overturning conviction or sentence alone, commutations, or deaths (through execution or otherwise). (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that an Arkansas inmate on death row can sue the state in his effort to have new tests run on DNA evidence that could clear him. According to court documents Justin Anderson fatally shot the victim, eighty-seven-year-old Clara In 2011, Ashley Blackstone examined what life was like on death row in Arkansas and what it took to execute an inmate. m. [2] Due to this fluctuation as well as The longest-standing inmate on Arkansas' death row has died of natural causes. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, grants Life And Death Row: The Mass Execution is a documentary series about the historic number of executions scheduled in Arkansas, USA, of eight men in ten days. odp nwf xorgn jiys myaza vpoxad ypqpzgw hoqhht lfgttat pbpio