Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes

Twenty-four people have been put to death so far in 2023, up from 18 in 2022 and 11 in 2021, according to a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The center attributed the increase to Florida's return to executions after a 3-year pause. (Pat Sullivan/AP)

Phillip Hancock on Thursday became the fourth death row inmate executed in Oklahoma this year. The state's parole board had voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for Hancock, who was convicted for the 2001 murders of two men, but the governor declined to intervene.

Nationally, executions climbed for the second year in a row in 2023, with Texas and Florida accounting for more than half, according to a year-end-report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The increase comes as public opinion continues to turn against the death penalty.