Two inmates were executed in Oklahoma and Tennessee on the same day
On August 13, authorities in the states of Oklahoma and Tennessee executed two men who had been sentenced to death. Carlos Cuestu-Rodriguez was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, and an hour later, Darrell Gains was executed in Tennessee, according to The Guardian.
Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, was pronounced dead at 10:13 a.m. local time. He was sentenced to death for the 2003 murder of his common-law wife, Olympia Fisher. Prior to his execution, he unsuccessfully sought a pardon, claiming that he had repented and had suffered from mental health issues throughout his life.
After the execution, Cuesta-Rodriguez’s family and friends released a statement describing his life as one filled with beauty and tenderness despite the darkest of circumstances. They stated that he repented daily for his actions, supported his family, and helped inmates who were in more difficult situations.
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Gaines, 66, was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jackson Jenkins—a motel housekeeper and mother of four. His lawyers attempted to postpone the execution, citing a previous execution in Tennessee in May. According to the publication, medical staff spent a long time trying to locate a vein in another condemned man, Tony Carruthers.
On the same day, the execution of 42-year-old Jeremy Williams was scheduled in Alabama. He was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of five-year-old Kamari Holland in Georgia in 2021. Williams pleaded guilty and declined to appeal his sentence.
If the execution in Alabama goes ahead, it will be the first time in more than 15 years that three people have been executed in the U.S. on the same day. All three executions were scheduled to be carried out by lethal injection. According to The Guardian, 47 death sentences were carried out in the U.S. last year, compared to 25 the year before.
