Three Executed in One Day in U.S., Lebanon Abolishes the Death Penalty...Global Capital Punishment Trends Diverge

Three Executions in One Day in the U.S. for the First Time in 16 Years
Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty After 22-Year Moratorium

Executions of three death row inmates were carried out consecutively in the United States for the first time in 16 years. While long-term support for the death penalty is declining in the U.S., the actual number of executions is increasing, reigniting debates surrounding the death penalty.

According to Yonhap News on August 14, citing the Associated Press, the states of Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama each carried out executions by lethal injection on the same day for inmates Anthony Darrell Hines, Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, and Jeremy Williams, all convicted of murder.

In the United States, three executions of death row inmates were carried out consecutively in a single day for the first time in 16 years. While long-term support for the death penalty has been declining domestically, the actual number of executions has increased, reigniting the debate surrounding capital punishment. The photo is not related to specific content of the article. Getty Images

This is the first time three executions have been carried out in a single day in the U.S. since January 7, 2010, when executions were conducted in Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas. Although the overlapping schedule of these three executions can be attributed to coincidence, some analysts note that it clearly signals a rising trend in executions in the United States.

In 2025, a total of 47 people were executed in 11 U.S. states, nearly double the 25 executions in 2024 and the highest number since 2009. With the latest three cases, executions carried out in 2026 have reached 22. Florida, in particular, executed 19 people in 2025 and an additional 12 so far this year, leading the recent surge in executions.

However, not all parts of the United States are expanding executions. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), 27 out of the 50 U.S. states have the death penalty on the books, but 10 of these states have not carried out an execution in over a decade. This year, executions have been concentrated in a few states such as Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.

Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty... First in the Middle East

Meanwhile, the federal government is moving in the direction of strengthening the death penalty. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his inauguration day in January last year, centered on strengthening federal executions. In April this year, the U.S. Department of Justice decided to reinstate the lethal injection protocol used during the first Trump administration, to expand regulations to introduce additional execution methods such as firing squads, and to shorten the processing time for death penalty cases. Actual federal executions, however, have not taken place since 2021.

Earlier, the Lebanese Parliament passed a bill on the 11th to abolish the death penalty and replace existing death sentences with life imprisonment without parole and aggravated labor sentences. Reuters Yonhap News

The issue is that these developments are moving counter to changes in U.S. public opinion. According to a Gallup "Values and Beliefs" poll released in June, only 52% of Americans said they find the death penalty "morally acceptable," the lowest level since the survey began. In the 2025 survey, support for the death penalty for murderers was also just 52%, the lowest since 1972. As American resistance to the death penalty rises over the long term, the number of actual executions is ironically increasing.

International trends are taking the opposite path from stricter enforcement of the death penalty in the United States. Earlier, on August 11, the Lebanese Parliament passed a bill to abolish the death penalty and replace capital punishment with life imprisonment without parole and aggravated hard labor. Lebanon had not carried out any executions for over 22 years since January 2004, but capital punishment remained in its laws and courts continued issuing death sentences. This decision makes Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to legally abolish the death penalty for all crimes. Amnesty International explained that, once the law goes into effect, Lebanon will be the 114th country in the world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

Fewer Death Penalty Countries, But Executions Surge

Paradoxically, while the number of countries abolishing the death penalty is steadily increasing, actual executions are surging in some countries. According to Amnesty International, as of the end of 2025, 113 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Including countries that abolished it for ordinary crimes or have not carried out executions in over 10 years (classified as "abolitionist in practice"), the number reaches 145. By contrast, 54 countries retain the death penalty in law. Since Lebanon had already been classified as "abolitionist in practice," this legal reform increases the total number of fully abolitionist countries. Although more and more countries are abolishing the death penalty, the number of executions is increasing dramatically.

South Korea has the death penalty in its criminal law but is classified as a country that does not carry out actual executions. The last execution in South Korea took place in December 1997. Amnesty International categorizes South Korea as an "abolitionist in practice" country because it has not conducted any executions for over ten years. The Asia Business Daily

According to Amnesty International, at least 2,707 executions were carried out worldwide in 2025, a 78% increase from the 1,518 in the previous year. This is the highest annual figure recorded by Amnesty International in 44 years. Moreover, this figure excludes thousands of executions believed to have taken place in China, where execution statistics are a state secret, as well as those in North Korea and Vietnam. Nevertheless, only 17 countries actually carried out executions. As most of the world distances itself from capital punishment, executions are being increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries.

In particular, Iran executed at least 2,159 people last year, and Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions. China is presumed to be the world's leading executioner, though no official statistics are available. Recent executions have also been confirmed in Japan, North Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, South Korea retains the death penalty in its criminal law but is considered a country that does not carry out executions. The last execution in South Korea took place in December 1997. Amnesty International classifies South Korea, where no executions have been carried out for over ten years, as an "abolitionist in practice" country.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.