Three States Execute Inmates Same Day, First Time Since 2016

Idaho News · Idaho Politics and Government
August 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM PDT

Why It Matters

Three executions carried out across the United States on a single day marks a rare occurrence in capital punishment and reflects the ongoing national debate over the death penalty. The coordinated executions underscore how states continue to pursue capital sentences while capital cases face ongoing legal and procedural challenges.

What Happened

Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama each executed one inmate by lethal injection on Thursday, marking the first time three executions have been carried out in the United States on the same day since January 7, 2010. Tennessee and Oklahoma completed their executions within 30 minutes of each other, while Alabama’s execution occurred several hours later.

Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, was executed in Tennessee at 10:43 a.m. CDT for the 1985 stabbing death of Catherine Jean Jenkins, a 54-year-old hotel maid killed at a motel in Kingston Springs. Hines’ son, who had not seen his father since he was 3 years old, witnessed the execution after reconnecting with him just four days prior.

Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, was executed in Oklahoma at the state penitentiary in McAlester at 10:13 a.m. CDT. He was the third inmate executed in Oklahoma during 2025. Cuesta-Rodriguez was convicted in the 2003 fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Olimpia Fisher, age 43. According to the source material, Fisher was shot in both eyes, and Cuesta-Rodriguez waited approximately eight minutes between shots as Fisher screamed for help. Cuesta-Rodriguez had informed the clemency board that he did not seek clemency.

Jeremy Williams was executed in Alabama for the 2021 rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl. Williams had dropped his appeals after entering a guilty plea.

By The Numbers

Three executions carried out on Thursday—the first simultaneous execution day in 16 years
Twenty-two inmates have been executed in 2025 through Thursday
Eleven states executed 47 people in 2025, the highest number since 2009
Florida has executed 31 prisoners since the start of 2025, including two men in July
Nearly a dozen more executions are scheduled

Procedural Context

The last occasion when three executions occurred on the same day was January 7, 2010, involving Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas. A prior effort to execute three inmates on the same day occurred in 2018, but only one execution proceeded after Texas granted a reprieve and Alabama experienced intravenous line complications.

Cuesta-Rodriguez’s attorneys had cited his difficult childhood in Cuba, brain damage, and post-traumatic stress disorder in appeals, though he declined to pursue clemency. In May, a separate execution in Alabama was stopped after medical staff were unable to establish a backup intravenous line for more than an hour, highlighting ongoing technical challenges in capital cases.

National Trend

The three executions reflect a broader increase in capital punishment across the United States. The 47 executions carried out by 11 states in 2025 represent the highest execution count since 2009, signaling a shift in enforcement of capital sentences after several years of lower numbers.