US to Execute Three Death Row Inmates in a Single Day for First Time in 16 Years

On Thursday, the United States is set to execute three death row inmates in a single day — in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma. According to experts, this is the first time in sixteen years that three executions have taken place on the same day, and it is being cited as further evidence of the country's rising number of death sentences.

In Tennessee, 66-year-old Hines will receive a lethal injection for the murder of hotel maid Katherine Jean Jenkinson, whom he stabbed to death at a motel in 1985. Hines, who is bedridden due to poor health, has never admitted guilt and has repeatedly requested clemency, the BBC reports. His execution is drawing particular attention because it will be carried out using the same method as the botched May execution of triple murderer Tony Von Carruthers, whose executioners struggled for more than an hour to administer the injection as he bled and complained of pain. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee postponed Carruthers' execution by a year at the time, but insists the procedure itself was not botched — the executioners simply couldn't find a vein.

Child abuse and a murder witnessed by his daughter

In Alabama, 41-year-old Jeremy Williams will be executed for the rape and murder of five-year-old Camaria Holland in 2021. The girl was handed over to him for rape by her own mother, who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking children for sex. During the trial, Williams dismissed his lawyers and insisted on the death penalty himself. This will be Alabama's first execution of the year, and it will also be carried out by lethal injection.

In Oklahoma, 71-year-old Cuesta-Rodriguez will be executed for shooting his partner, Olympia Fisher, to death in front of her daughter in 2003. Experts warn that, given the condemned man's advanced age, the risk of complications during the execution is higher than usual.

Executions on the rise despite shifting public opinion

Last year the US executed 47 people — four times more than in 2021. Yet polls show that American society is increasingly opposed to capital punishment, a shift that is even reflected in jury decisions.

President Donald Trump, by contrast, remains a firm supporter of the death penalty. Since returning to the White House, he has expanded the list of permitted execution methods, including reinstating firing squads alongside lethal injections. Experts note, however, that the real impact of Trump's policies will only become apparent years from now, and the current rise in executions cannot be attributed to him.

The main "credit" for the increase in executions belongs not to Trump but to Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis: roughly 40% of all executions last year took place in that state alone, and of the 19 executions carried out in the US since the start of this year, 12 were in Florida. "The reason we're seeing record numbers of executions is DeSantis. He's the reason Florida stands out from the rest of the country," said Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz