Three Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma inmates set for execution Thursday, reflecting a sharp rise in U.S. capital‑punishment killings.
Anthony Darrell Hines (66) will be executed in Tennessee, Jeremy Williams (41) in Alabama and Carlos Cuesta‑Rodriguez (71) in Oklahoma – the first Southern executions in 2026.
The schedule comes after the country’s executions jumped from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025, with Florida responsible for nearly 40% of those deaths. The surge follows actions by former President Donald Trump, who ended the federal moratorium on capital punishment and re‑instated it in 2025, and by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has reduced juror thresholds and expanded capital‑punishment crimes.
Despite the rise in numbers, public opinion has slid sharply. A Gallup poll shows just 52% of Americans consider the death penalty morally acceptable, the lowest since the 1970s, and the number of death sentences handed down by juries has fallen from hundreds in the 1990s to only 23 in 2025.
Execution procedures face growing scrutiny as drug shortages make lethal injections unreliable, prompting some states like South Carolina to use firing squads. Memorable botched attempts – such as Tennessee’s failed injection of Tony Von Carruthers – have intensified calls for humane methods.
Neighbors of the inmates warn that the scheduled executions could be called off if a last‑minute reprieve is granted. Yet the orchestration of the upcoming death sentences illustrates how both federal policies and state actions are reshaping capital punishment in the U.S.
