On June 8, 2022, the state of Arizona executed Frank Atwood by lethal injection in Florence, Arizona 35 years after he was sentenced to death in 1987 for kidnapping and murder. Local coverage available here.
Mr. Atwood is the second man executed by Arizona this year, following a 7-year moratorium on executions after the botched execution of Jospeh Wood in 2014. Arizona executed Clarence Dixon earlier this year on May 11, 2022. In the days before his execution, federal courts denied Mr. Atwood relief in two lawsuits. The Ninth Circuit denied him the opportunity to present new evidence of his innocence. It separately affirmed a lower court’s denial of Mr. Atwood’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, which he argued cause him excruciating pain due to a debilitating spinal condition.
Mr. Atwood is the 8th person executed in the United States this year. The Death Penalty Information Center tracks upcoming executions here.