In September 2025, the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) reported on the impending executions of two men, Nicholas Lee Wickersham and Abdul Awad, scheduled to occur within hours of each other. These federal executions were part of a surge orchestrated by the Trump administration, marking a significant resumption of capital punishment at the federal level after a long hiatus.
Wickersham was convicted of killing a young woman in Oklahoma, and Awad was found guilty of murdering two teenagers in Arkansas. Their cases had been subject to lengthy appeals processes, ultimately unsuccessful in preventing their scheduled executions.
The WSWS article contextualized these executions within the broader political landscape, highlighting Trump’s “law and order” rhetoric and his administration’s active push to expedite federal executions. It noted the hypocrisy of executing individuals while simultaneously overseeing policies that contribute to widespread social inequality and violence.
Adding to the controversy, hours before the executions, Trump issued a presidential memo instructing the Attorney General to “fully enforce” the death penalty for federal crimes in Washington D.C., despite the city having abolished capital punishment in 1981.
find the original article here: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/09/26/iwyo-s26.html