AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The number of death row inmates executed across the U.S. spiked dramatically this year to a level not seen in more than a decade. That's alarming opponents of the death penalty who say public opinion is increasingly against executions. Joining us now is Kat Stromquist from the Gulf States Newsroom. She's reported extensively on the issue. Welcome to the program.
KAT STROMQUIST, BYLINE: Hey there.
RASCOE: So just how different is this year in terms of executions?
STROMQUIST: So if you're just looking at the total number of executions, this year really sticks out. So far this year, 44 people have been executed. That's up from 25 last year. I spoke to Robin Maher at the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks capital punishment. And she says one state is driving the increase, Florida.
ROBIN MAHER: The only reason there's an increase in this year's total number compared to other years is because Governor DeSantis personally scheduled a record number of executions in Florida.
STROMQUIST: She's referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis here. He's overseen 17 executions so far this year.
RASCOE: So why are there so many executions in Florida?
STROMQUIST: Well, I reached out to Governor DeSantis' office, and his staff directed me to some remarks he made at a press conference in November. Basically, he says, early on in his term, COVID, quote, "threw a wrench into our corrections," end quote. Now he says he's responding to families of the victims of crimes that were, in some cases, committed years ago, and he owes them justice.
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RON DESANTIS: And it's like, you know, there's a saying, justice delayed is justice denied.
STROMQUIST: I also spoke to Grace Hanna, the executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, an advocacy group. She says the narrative about families of the victims doesn't always check out, noting there are victim family members who oppose executions. Hanna says it's been a difficult time for the men on death row in Florida.
GRACE HANNA: I think the men are scared. They talk about when, you know, they hear the doors on their wing open, and they see the guards walk in or the warden walk in, they kind of wonder whose cell they are going to stop at that day.
RASCOE: What else stood out about this year?
STROMQUIST: So one thing is the limited scope of capital punishment. Executions were largely concentrated in just four states - Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. States also continue to try these different methods of execution, in part as a workaround to difficulty obtaining the drugs used for lethal injection. In Alabama, the state continued to execute people using the controversial nitrogen gas method this year. Louisiana also carried out its first execution using that method. And in South Carolina, we saw a few people put to death by firing squad.
RASCOE: Well, what do experts predict could happen next year?
STROMQUIST: You know, it's hard to know, but Robin Maher, of the Death Penalty Information Center, says she doesn't expect a single unusual year like this one to change the general downward trajectory of capital punishment since around the year 2000. And surveys show American support for the death penalty has been declining for decades. But Maher says politics is a wildcard here. The Trump administration supports the death penalty, and remember, President Biden did not. Experts also tell me that in recent years, the Supreme Court is intervening less in these cases. So that was previously a check in this system that isn't happening as often these days.
RASCOE: That's Kat Stromquist of the Gulf States Newsroom. Thank you so much for joining us.
STROMQUIST: Thanks for having me.
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