Seventeen people, all male, were executed in the United States in 2020, sixteen by lethal injection and one by electrocution.
[1] The federal government of the United States executed ten people in 2020, ending a hiatus on federal executions which had lasted for over 17 years.
State executions dropped significantly in 2020 compared to previous years, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of executions that had been planned for 2020 were postponed and/or rescheduled.
[27][28][29][30] In addition, the December 8 execution of Lisa Montgomery by the federal government was postponed by the DC District Court after both of her defense attorneys caught COVID-19.