US Executes Three Prisoners by Lethal Injection in a Single Day

WASHINGTON: The United States executed three prisoners by lethal injection in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama on the same day, bringing the total number of executions carried out in the country during 2026 to 22.
It was the first time in more than 15 years that three prisoners were executed across the United States in a single day. In Tennessee, 66-year-old Anthony Haynes was executed for the 1985 murder of 54-year-old hotel worker Catherine Jenkins.
In Oklahoma, 70-year-old Carlos Cuesta Rodriguez was put to death for killing his common-law wife, Olympia Fisher. Alabama also executed 42-year-old Jeremy Williams for the rape and murder of five-year-old Holland.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the last time three executions were carried out in the United States on the same day was January 7, 2010. So far in 2026, Florida has recorded 12 executions, Texas four and Oklahoma three, while Arizona, Tennessee and Alabama have each carried out one execution.
The death penalty remains legal in most US states. Of the 50 states, 23 have abolished capital punishment, while California, Oregon and Pennsylvania have imposed moratoriums on executions. Lethal injection remains the primary method, although some states also use firing squads and nitrogen hypoxia.
The United Nations has described execution by nitrogen gas as an inhumane form of capital punishment. US President Donald Trump has supported expanding the use of the death penalty.
The executions came as Lebanon abolished capital punishment, becoming the 113th country to completely end the practice for all crimes. According to Amnesty International, Iran carried out more than 2,159 executions in 2025, while Saudi Arabia recorded 356.