Three death row inmates were executed on August 13, 2026, in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Alabama, marking the first time since January 7, 2010, that three executions occurred on the same day in the US [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma at 10:13 a.m. He was convicted for murdering his common-law wife, Olimpia Fisher, in 2003. Cuesta-Rodriguez expressed remorse but declined to seek clemency, stating he lost control and deeply apologized to the victim’s family [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 6]. His lawyers highlighted his troubled childhood and mental illness [2, 3, 4, 6].
Around one hour after the Oklahoma execution, Darrell Hines, 66, was executed by lethal injection in Tennessee for the 1985 murder of motel maid Catherine Jean Jackson Jenkins. Hines’s defense lawyers argued against the execution citing his stroke, blindness, left-side paralysis, and severe pain. Lawyer Katherine Dix called his death sentence "tantamount to murder" due to his medical condition [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 6]. Hines gave no last statement except to tell prison staff to greet his son, who had witnessed the execution after reconnecting with his father days prior [2, 3, 4].
Jeremy Williams, 42, was executed by lethal injection in Alabama at 6:16 p.m. He pleaded guilty and waived all appeals for the 2021 rape and murder of five-year-old Kamarie Holland. Before the execution, Williams said, "Thank God for forgiving my sins so I can go peacefully" [1, 2, 3, 4, 7]. Authorities noted Williams paid the victim’s mother to abuse the child and recorded the crime; the mother was later sentenced for human trafficking [2, 3, 4].
All executions used lethal injection. Alabama had planned to use nitrogen gas but a federal judge halted that method in June 2026 [1, 6]. The scheduling of three executions on the same day was coincidental rather than a coordinated policy, according to Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center [1, 2, 3, 6].
In 2025, the US carried out 47 executions, the highest since 2009, with Florida responsible for 19 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. By mid-2026, 21 executions had occurred nationwide, with nearly 10 more scheduled, signaling an upward trend in death penalty use [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
