MCALESTER — Three U.S. states carried out executions on July 17, 2026, marking the first time since January 7, 2010, that three inmates were put to death in the United States on the same day. The simultaneous proceedings in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Alabama brought the total number of executions in 2026 to 22.

Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez was executed by the state of Oklahoma via lethal injection at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester. He was pronounced dead at 10:13 a.m. CDT. Anthony Darrell Hines was executed by the state of Tennessee via lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m. CDT.

Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, was sentenced to death for the 2003 murder of his common-law wife, Olimpia Fisher. Fisher was 43 years old at the time of her death. Cuesta-Rodriguez shot Fisher in one eye, waited approximately eight minutes while she screamed for help, and then fired a fatal shot into her other eye.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 against recommending clemency for Cuesta-Rodriguez after he told the board he did not want clemency. His attorneys had stated he had a difficult childhood in Cuba and suffered from brain damage, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major depression with psychotic episodes.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond addressed the board regarding the crime, saying he made her suffer because she dared to live beyond his control. Cuesta-Rodriguez turned his head to look at two relatives who attended the execution and mouthed 'I love you' but said he had no last words. He was the third person executed in Oklahoma in 2026 and the 20th person executed under Republican Governor Kevin Stitt.

Hines, 66, was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins, a 54-year-old motel maid in Kingston Springs. Hines stabbed Jenkins to death. He was sentenced to death in 1986, won an appeal for a new sentencing hearing, and was again sentenced to death in 1989.

Hines had two strokes that left him partially paralyzed. He appealed unsuccessfully to Governor Bill Lee and the courts to postpone his execution, citing concerns about the doctor who oversaw a previous halted execution. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that Hines had not proven the doctor who oversaw the May execution was unqualified. That attempted lethal injection of Tony Carruthers in May was called off after medical staff worked for more than an hour trying to insert a backup IV line. Governor Bill Lee gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve after the halted execution.

Dennis Jenkins, the son of Catherine Jean Jenkins, commented on the execution, saying he hoped Hines felt severe pain because what he did to his mother was nothing compared to what he may have just gone through.

Williams, 42, was sentenced to death for the 2021 rape and murder of five-year-old Kamarie Holland in Georgia. Williams raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for the child to perform a sex act. Williams filmed his attack on Holland and kept her body to continue to abuse her.

Holland's mother is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sex trafficking. Williams pleaded guilty to killing Holland and waived his appeals, requesting that his death sentence be carried out so her family could have closure.

Russell County District Attorney Richard Chancey described the crime, saying that to see on video what Williams did to the child, what a grown man could do to a baby, was shocking, horrible, and disgusting, and that it was just a level of evil. Williams said in his final words, 'I want to thank God for forgiving me for my sins so I can meet him in peace.'

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, noted the geographic concentration of capital punishment, saying that looking at the country as a whole, there was just a little pocket of five or six states that were using the death penalty, executing people, and a small number of states that were still imposing new death sentences. Eleven states carried out a total of 47 executions in 2025, with Florida accounting for 19 of those.

Three executions were scheduled on the same day in 2018, but only one went forward after a Texas man was granted a reprieve and prison officials in Alabama had problems with the IV line. On January 7, 2010, Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas each carried out an execution.

Timeline

In 1985, Anthony Darrell Hines stabbed Catherine Jean Jenkins to death. Jenkins was a 54-year-old motel maid in Kingston Springs. In 2003, Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez shot Fisher in one eye, waited approximately eight minutes while she screamed for help, and then fired a fatal shot into her other eye. On January 7, 2010, Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas each carried out an execution.

What's New

Later reporting confirmed that the execution of Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez was carried out for the 2003 murder of his common-law wife, Fisher. Details emerged that Fisher, 43, planned to leave Cuesta-Rodriguez when he shot her in one eye and then waited about eight minutes as she screamed for help before firing the fatal shot into her other eye. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board set a decision date on July 14, 2026, to vote on clemency for Cuesta-Rodriguez. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told the state’s Pardon and Parole Board on July 14 that he made her suffer because she dared to live beyond his control.

Additional accounts noted that Anthony Darrell Hines said 'not right now, thank you' when asked if he had final words, then said, 'Tell my son hello' before he died. Robin Maher said that looking at the country as a whole, there was just a little pocket of five or six states that were using the death penalty, executing people, and a small number of states that were still imposing new death sentences. It was also reported that Jeremy Williams pleaded guilty to killing Kamarie Holland and sought an immediate execution date so her family could have closure.

How Sources Differ

Regarding the details of the crime committed by Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, some sources state that Fisher, 43, planned to leave Cuesta-Rodriguez when he shot her in one eye and then waited about eight minutes as she screamed for help before firing the fatal shot into her other eye. Other records state only that Cuesta-Rodriguez was sentenced to death for the 2003 murder of his common-law wife, Fisher, or that he shot her in one eye, waited approximately eight minutes while she screamed for help, and then fired a fatal shot into her other eye, without mentioning her plan to leave.

Regarding the crime committed by Jeremy Williams, some sources state that he pleaded guilty to killing Kamarie Holland and sought an immediate execution date so her family could have closure. Other sources, including statements from prosecutors, state that Williams raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for the child to perform a sex act.

Why It Matters

The simultaneous executions in three states highlight the concentrated nature of capital punishment in the United States. With 22 inmates put to death in 2026 and nearly a dozen more scheduled, the practice remains active in a small number of jurisdictions despite broader national trends. The last time three executions occurred on a single day was in 2010, and a similar attempt in 2018 resulted in only one execution due to procedural issues.

The cases involved crimes spanning several decades, from a 1985 murder in Tennessee to a 2021 killing in Georgia. The proceedings drew attention to the legal processes, including clemency reviews and appeals, as well as the personal impacts on victims' families and the final statements of the condemned. The volume of executions in 2026 continues a pattern established in 2025, when eleven states carried out 47 executions.