An execution warrant (or death warrant) is a writ

Writ

In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...

 which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death (capital punishment

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

) on an individual. An execution warrant is not to be confused with a "license to kill", which operates like an arrest warrant

Arrest warrant

An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....

 but with deadly force

Deadly force

Deadly force, as defined by the United States Armed Forces, is the force which a person uses, causing—or that a person knows, or should know, would create a substantial risk of causing—death or serious bodily harm...

 instead of arrest as the end goal.

United States of America

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 either a judicial or executive official designated by law issues an execution warrant. This is done when a person has been sentenced to death in a trial court, after trial

Trial (law)

In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...

 and conviction, and usually after appeals are exhausted. Normally when a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, the condemned person is moved from his or her death row

Death row

Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...

 cell to a death watch cell, which is typically located adjacent to the execution chamber

Execution chamber

An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...

. Usually, the government agency charged with carrying out an execution, normally the state's Department of Corrections

Department of Corrections

A Department of Corrections is a governmental agency responsible for overseeing the incarceration of persons convicted of crimes within a particular jurisdiction. Entities serving that purpose include:* Department of Corrections...

 or the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in federal cases, has a limited time frame, normally about 60 days, from the date the warrant is signed, to complete the execution process, or the warrant expires and the condemned person is returned to the death row cell, where he or she will await another execution date.

Stays of execution can be ordered in state cases by the Governor of the state, a trial court, a state appeals court or state Supreme Court or a court in the federal judiciary (including the United States Supreme Court). In federal death penalty cases the trial court, appeals courts, the United States Supreme Court and President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 may grant a stay of execution. In all cases, the stay may be issued at any time, even when the condemned is being prepared for execution.

Setting of execution dates by state

State	Power	Notes
Federal	Trial Court Judge
Military	Secretary of the Army United States Secretary of the Army The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official within the Department of Defense of the United States of America with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and...	The Secretary of the Army, as the designated Department of Defense Corrections Level III executive official, sets the date and location of military executions. The execution date must be at least 60 days after affirmation of the sentence by the President of the United States President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... . All sentences of death must be personally affirmed, in writing, by the President of the United States before the Secretary of the Army is permitted to set an execution date.
California Capital punishment in California Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in the U.S. state of California. The first recorded execution in the area that is now California took place on April 11, 1878 when four Native Americans were shot in San Diego County for conspiracy to commit murder. These were the first of 709...	Trial Court Judge	The execution date shall not be less than 60 days nor more than 90 days from the time of making the order
Texas Capital punishment in Texas Capital punishment has been used in the U.S. state of Texas and its predecessor entities since 1819.As of 16 November 2011, 1,228 individuals have been executed. Only Virginia has executed more individuals overall; however, since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States in the...	Trial Court Judge	The first execution date may not be earlier than the 91st day after the date the convicting court enters the order setting the execution date. A subsequent execution date may not be earlier than the 31st day after the date the convicting court enters the order setting the execution date. The execution date shall be a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
New York	Trial Court Judge	Last death sentence reversed on 2007 The week of execution appointed in the warrant shall be not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after the issuance of the warrant. The date of execution within said week shall be left to the discretion of the commissioner, but the date and hour of the execution shall be announced publicly no later than seven days prior to said execution.
Florida Capital punishment in Florida Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Florida. Florida was the first state to reintroduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision, and the first to perform a post-Furman involuntary...	Governor	After a stay of execution is dissolved, the Governor must set the new date for execution of the death sentence within 10 days. The Governor can grant stays. If a death sentence is not executed because of unjustified failure of the Governor to issue a warrant, or for any other unjustifiable reason, on application of the Department of Legal Affairs, the Supreme Court shall issue a warrant directing the sentence to be executed during a week designated in the warrant.
Pennsylvania	Governor	List of execution Warrants Issued since 1985 At least 349 execution warrants were signed since 1985, but only three executions were carried out, because those three defendants waived appeals.
Illinois	Supreme Court of Illinois Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
Ohio	Supreme Court of Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio The Supreme Court of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, each serving six-year terms...
North Carolina
Georgia	Trial Court Judge	The court shall specify the time period for the execution in the sentence. The time period for the execution fixed by the court shall be seven days in duration and shall commence at noon on a specified date and shall end at noon on a specified date. The time period shall commence not less than 20 days nor more than 60 days from the date of sentencing. A new time period for the execution -due to stay- fixed by the judge shall commence not less than ten nor more than 20 days from the date of the order.
Virginia	Trial Court Judge
Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	Trial Court Judge	Death penalty statute found unconstitutional in 1984- Section 57 - chapter 279
Washington Capital punishment in Washington Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in the U.S. state of Washington. A total of 110 executions have been carried out in the state and its predecessor territories since 1849. All but three were by hanging.-History:...	Trial Court Judge
Indiana	Supreme Court of Indiana Supreme Court of Indiana The Supreme Court of Indiana is the state supreme court of Indiana. The court was established by Article Seven of the Indiana Constitution and is the highest judicial authority within Indiana...
Missouri	Supreme Court of Missouri Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820, and is located in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction- the sole legal power to hear -...
Tennessee	Tennessee Supreme Court Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
Maryland Capital punishment in Maryland Capital punishment is a legal form of judicial punishment in the U.S. state of Maryland. It has been in use in the state — or more precisely, its predecessor colony — since June 20, 1638, when two men were hanged for piracy in St. Mary's County. A total of 309 people were executed by a variety of...	Trial Court Judge
Arizona
Alabama Capital punishment in Alabama Capital punishment is legal in Alabama, as it is in most U.S. states. Capital punishment dates back to 1812, when present-day Alabama was still part of the Mississippi Territory....	Alabama Supreme Court Alabama Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...	The sentence shall be executed at any hour on the day set for the execution, not less than 30 nor more than 100.
Colorado Capital punishment in Colorado Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Colorado.Colorado was the last state to perform an execution in pre-Furman period , but since 1977 executed only one prisoner.-Current development:...	Trial Court Judge
Louisiana	Trial Court Judge
South Carolina	South Carolina Supreme Court South Carolina Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
Kentucky	Governor Governor of Kentucky The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...	The execution shall in theory be carried out on the fifth Friday following the affirmation of the sentence by the Kentucky Supreme Court Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky... . However, because of stays, the governor may appoint another day of execution and may continue to do so until the sentence is carried into effect.
Connecticut Capital punishment in Connecticut Capital punishment in Connecticut currently exists as an available sanction for a criminal defendant upon conviction for the commission of a capital offense. Connecticut, along with New Hampshire, are the only two New England states that maintain a death penalty. Since the 1976 United States...
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government....	code of criminal procedure of the State of Oklahoma, §221001
Oregon
Kansas
Arkansas Capital punishment in Arkansas Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1820, a total of 504 individuals have been executed. According to the Arkansas Department of Correction, as of December 22, 2008, a total of 40 men were under a sentence of death in the state....
Mississippi	Supreme Court of Mississippi Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was created in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817. Initially it was known as the "High Court of Errors and Appeals." The Court is an appellate court, as...
Nebraska	Nebraska Supreme Court Nebraska Supreme Court The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Each Justice is initially appointed by the Governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each Justice is then subject to a retention vote for additional...
Nevada	Trial Court Judge
New Mexico	Trial Court Judge	When judgment of death is rendered by any court of competent jurisdiction a warrant signed by the judge and attested by the clerk under the seal of the court must be drawn and delivered to the sheriff. It must state the conviction and judgment and appoint a day on which the judgment is to be executed, which must be not less than sixty nor more than ninety days from the date of judgment and must direct the sheriff to deliver the defendant, at a time specified in said order, not more than ten days from the date of judgment, to the warden of the state penitentiary at Santa Fe for execution
Utah	Trial Court Judge	The appointed day the judgment is to be executed, which may not be fewer than 30 days nor more than 60 days from the date of issuance of the warrant, and may not be a Sunday, Monday, or a legal holiday.
Idaho Capital punishment in Idaho Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Idaho.-Current development:Capital punishment was reinstated in Idaho on July 7, 1973, after the United States Supreme Court struck down all death penalty statutes across the country in 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision. The 1976 case Gregg v...	Trial Court Judge
New Hampshire Capital punishment in New Hampshire Capital punishment in the U.S. state of New Hampshire is a legal form of punishment for the crime of capital murder. Capital murder is the only crime for which the death penalty may be imposed in the state. Since 1734, twenty-four people have been executed, with the last execution carried out in 1939...	Governor	The governor and council or their designee shall determine the time of performing such execution .
South Dakota Capital punishment in South Dakota -Current development:South Dakota Legislature passed a new death penalty statute, which went to effect due to signature of Governor Bill Janklow on January 1, 1979.-Crimes punishable by death:...	Trial Court Judge
Delaware	Trial Court Judge
Montana	Trial Court Judge
Wyoming Capital punishment in Wyoming Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Wyoming.-Current development:Wyoming Legislature passed a new and current death penalty statute on February 28, 1977, due to eliminating all previous statutes across the country by the 1972 United States Supreme Court Furman v. Georgia...	Trial Court Judge