Stephen Stanko, convicted of a 2005 double murder in South Carolina, was executed by lethal injection Friday, the fourth U.S. execution this week. Stanko chose lethal injection over firing squad or electric chair and apologized in his final statement. Other recent executions include John Hanson in Oklahoma, Anthony Wainwright in Florida, and Gregory Hunt in Alabama, who was executed by nitrogen gas—a method criticized as inhumane. So far, 23 executions have occurred in the U.S. this year, though 23 states have abolished the death penalty and others have moratoriums.
