A 65-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering his neighbour is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in the southern U.S. state of Florida on Tuesday.
The inmate, Norman Grim, who was found guilty of the 1998 murder and sexual assault of Cynthia Campbell, a 41-year-old lawyer who lived next door to him, has dropped all appeals against his death sentence. His execution is set for 6:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) at the Florida State Prison in Raiford.
Grim’s case adds to the growing number of executions in the United States this year, which now stands at 40, marking the highest figure since 2012, when 43 inmates were executed.
Florida has carried out the most executions in 2025, with 14 to date. Alabama and Texas follow with five each. Of the total executions this year, 33 have been conducted by lethal injection, two by firing squad, and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a relatively new and controversial method that causes death by suffocation through nitrogen gas.
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The use of nitrogen hypoxia has drawn strong condemnation from United Nations experts, who have described it as “cruel and inhumane.”
Currently, the death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others — California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania — maintain official moratoriums on executions.
Although global pressure continues to mount against capital punishment, the United States remains among the countries actively enforcing it. President Donald Trump has publicly supported its expansion, describing it as a necessary deterrent during his tenure.