Death penalty opponent Herve Deschamps holds a sign during a vigil outside St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis, hours before the 2014 scheduled execution of death row inmate Russell Bucklew. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption
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Nevada death row inmate Scott Raymond Dozier confers with public defender Lori Teiche in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas in August 2017. Ken Ritter/AP hide caption
Convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore did not put up a legal challenge to the execution protocol. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services via AP hide caption
The gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption
Florida State Prison in Raiford, Fla., where Mark James Asay was held after being sentenced to die for two murders he committed in 1987. Phil Sears/AP hide caption
Inmate Ronald Phillips was executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, on Wednesday morning. Above, the prison's death chamber in 2005. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption
William Morva's lawyers, Virginia state legislators, U.N. experts and even a daughter of one of his victims called for his execution to be stopped. Virginia Department of Corrections/AP hide caption
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility's death chamber has been unused since January 2014, when executions in the state were put on hold after problems putting an inmate to death. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption
Arkansas wrapped up an aggressive execution schedule Thursday, putting to death its fourth inmate in eight days. Kenneth Williams, 38, received a lethal injection Thursday night at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner, Ark. Arkansas Department of Correction/AP hide caption
This combination of undated file photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmates Jack Jones Jr., left, and Marcel Williams. The two Arkansas inmates were put to death Monday, in the nation's first double execution in more than 16 years. AP hide caption
This combination of undated photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows the death row inmates in question. Top row (from left): Jack Harold Jones Jr., Marcel Williams, Stacey E. Johnson, Ledell Lee. Bottom row (from left): Jason F. McGehee, Kenneth Williams, Don Davis and Bruce Earl Ward. McGehee's execution was blocked by federal judge last week. Arkansas Department of Correction via AP hide caption
While facing a number of issues surrounding lethal injection as a execution method, some states like Mississippi are creating back-up plans of alternative methods. These methods include using a gas chamber, an electric chair or a firing squad to carry out executions. Nevada Department of Corrections via AP hide caption
States Find Other Execution Methods After Difficulties With Lethal Injection
Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaking on Feb. 1. Kasich has postponed the state's next eight executions amidst a legal challenge to Ohio's lethal injection protocol. Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP hide caption
The death chamber at the Southern Ohio Corrections Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, as seen in 2005. A federal judge has rejected the state's lethal injection drug protocol, postponing three upcoming executions. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption
Gray was convicted of murdering an entire family in 2006 and given the death penalty for killing the children. His execution would be the first known instance of any state using a dose of the sedative midazolam that was procured from a compounding pharmacy. Virginia Department of Corrections via AP hide caption
Pfizer's corporate headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Anti-death penalty activists, including members of MoveOn.org and other advocay groups, rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in a final attempt to prevent the execution of Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip on Sept. 29. Larry French/Getty Images hide caption
Are Last-Minute Death Penalty Delays Cruel And Unusual Punishment?
Death row inmate Kelly Renee Gissendaner is seen in an undated picture from the Georgia Department of Corrections. Following repeated delays, Georgia carried out its first execution of a woman in 70 years on Tuesday evening. Handout/Reuters/Landov hide caption
An American flag flies over the U.S. Supreme Court June 29, 2015 in Washington, D.C. This past term, the liberal position won in 19 of the 26 closely-divided ideological cases and eight out of 10 of the most important ones. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
Liberal Minority Won Over Conservatives In Historic Supreme Court Term
The gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. On Monday the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in a case from Oklahoma that the sedative midazolam can be used in executions without violating the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption
Supreme Court Concludes Term With Death Penalty Ruling, Looks Ahead
A Tea Party supporter rings a bell in protest of the health care law in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, as Obamacare supporters shout behind her. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
A view of the death chamber from the witness room at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Mike Simons/Getty Images hide caption
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor grilled lawyers arguing the constitutionality of new lethal-injection cocktails. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption