Three men convicted of murder are scheduled to be executed in different US states later on Thursday, marking the first instance in 16 years that three individuals will face the death penalty on the same day in the United States.
Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, Jeremy Williams, 41, and Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 71, are set to be put to death in Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma, respectively. These planned executions highlight a significant increase in capital punishment across the US in recent years.
Figures for 2025 indicated a more than fourfold increase in executions compared to 2021, with 47 individuals put to death across 11 states. This represents a rise from 25 executions in 2024. This trend has emerged despite a reported growing wariness among American juries and the wider public regarding the use of capital punishment.
Former President Donald Trump has been a prominent advocate for the death penalty, describing it as "an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens." During his first term in 2020, Mr Trump ended a nearly two-decade moratorium on the federal death penalty, overseeing 13 executions within a six-month period.
While the federal moratorium was reinstated under President Biden, Mr Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term in 2025 to re-establish the death penalty. No federal executions have been carried out since this order, though both federal and state authorities retain the power to order capital punishment in the US.
Under Mr Trump's administration, the Department of Justice has broadened execution protocols to include additional methods, such as firing squads, and reinstated lethal injections. The department stated in April that it has also streamlined internal procedures to expedite death penalty cases. Mr Trump’s executive order further encouraged states to pursue capital punishment for federal crimes involving the killing of a law enforcement officer and instructed the Attorney General to ensure states had an adequate supply of drugs for lethal injections, thereby facilitating state-level executions.
However, Justin Mazzola, deputy director for research at Amnesty International USA, an organisation that opposes the death penalty, suggested that the full impact of Mr Trump's policies may not be apparent for several years. Mr Mazzola cited "the length it takes for the actual case to happen, and then also all the appeals that are built in once there is a conviction" as reasons for this delay.
A significant portion of the recent increase in executions has been attributed to Florida. The state accounted for approximately 40% of all US executions in 2025, and by just over halfway through 2026, 12 of the 19 executions nationwide had occurred in Florida.
Experts attribute Florida's prominent role to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI), an organisation that provides statistics on capital punishment without taking a moral stance, stated: "He is the reason we are seeing a record number of executions. He is the reason why Florida is an outlier compared to the rest of the United States."
Governor DeSantis has championed legislative changes aimed at facilitating executions. In 2023, Florida lowered the legal threshold for recommending the death penalty in trial cases, reducing the required number of jurors from a unanimous 12 to eight. Additionally, the crime of sexual battery on a minor under 12 years old has been made eligible as a capital offence.
Mr DeSantis has publicly supported the death penalty as a "strong deterrent" for crime and "an appropriate punishment for the worst offenders." Individual states hold significant power in prosecuting crimes and ordering executions, with state governors often playing a pivotal role. Florida's governor has the unique ability to sign a death warrant for prisoners who have exhausted their appeals, without direct oversight from the courts. While Pennsylvania has a similar process, it has not carried out an execution since 1999.
The US remains one of the few Western countries that retains the death penalty, which has largely been phased out in Europe and is seeing a decline in Africa. Currently, 27 of the 50 US states have capital punishment under state law, though four of these – California, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania – have paused executions through executive actions due to concerns over botched procedures, discrimination, and costs.
Despite these concerns, support for capital punishment persists among some officials. Florida's top prosecutor, James Uthmeier, has actively pursued the death penalty in high-profile murder cases, endorsing "the ultimate form of punishment" for "depraved" criminals. Florida State Attorney William Sheiner added in an interview with Central Florida Public Media that for criminals, "their punishment is frankly earned, and it's up to a jury of 12 to determine if that sentence is appropriate or not."
The method of execution has also become a point of contention. Pharmaceutical companies have opposed the use of their products for capital punishment, leading to shortages of the drugs required for lethal injections. In 2025, facing such shortages, South Carolina began executing inmates via firing squad.
Concerns have also been raised by a number of botched executions. The DPI estimated that approximately 3% of US executions between 1890 and 2010 were botched, with lethal injection having the highest rate. In 2022, the organisation reported that more than a third of all executions in the US were either botched or highly problematic.
An incident in May saw Tennessee officials attempt to administer a lethal injection to Tony Von Carruthers for over an hour. According to witness statements, blood streamed down his chest, and he repeatedly groaned and reported pain to prison staff. Governor Bill Lee, who subsequently granted Mr Carruthers a one-year reprieve, maintained that the execution was not botched, but rather that doctors were unable to establish IV access.
The scheduled executions on Thursday unfold amidst a steady decline in public support for the death penalty. A Gallup poll indicated that just 52% of Americans consider the death penalty morally acceptable, the lowest figure recorded since the 1970s. Robin Maher of the DPI noted that while over half of Americans remain in favour, this decline reflects shifting trends.
This weakening support is also evident in the decreasing number of death sentences handed down by juries. In the 1990s, juries across the US issued upwards of 300 death sentences annually, a figure that dropped to just 23 in 2025.
"That tells us something very important: These are regular citizens that are sitting in judgment of people who are accused of committing the worst possible crimes, and then deciding what sentence fits those crimes," Ms Maher said. "Those juries are increasingly saying that a death sentence is not the right answer."
Regarding the specific cases, Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, who has maintained his innocence for four years and is bedridden, is scheduled for execution in Tennessee using the same protocol that reportedly failed with Mr Carruthers twelve weeks prior.
In Alabama, Jeremy Williams, 41, convicted of the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in 2021, could face the state's first execution of 2026. Mr Williams has dismissed his attorneys and reportedly volunteered to be put to death by lethal injection. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has stated she does not intend to grant clemency.
In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 71, who was convicted of murder in 2003, has reportedly requested no clemency or mercy. He is also slated to die by lethal injection, though experts suggest his age increases the risk of a botched execution. It remains uncertain whether the executions of the three men on Thursday will proceed as planned, or if any last-minute reprieves will be granted.
