One Nation senator says parents who support their trans children are engaging in ‘child abuse’

Three men will be executed on the same day in the United States, marking the first time since 2008 that three individuals have faced the death penalty simultaneously. On Thursday, Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, will be executed in Tennessee; Jeremy Williams, 41, in Alabama; and Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 71, in Oklahoma. This rare occurrence highlights a sharp uptick in executions across the nation, with more than four times as many people put to death in 2025 compared to 2021, despite growing public skepticism toward the practice. The surge in executions reflects broader political and legal trends. Under former President Donald Trump, the federal government ended a near-two-decade moratorium on the death penalty, leading to 13 executions within six months. Although the moratorium was reinstated under President Joe Biden, Trump’s second term saw him sign an executive order reinstating the death penalty, though no federal executions have taken place since. His administration also expanded methods of execution, including firing squads and lethal injections, and streamlined procedures to accelerate death penalty cases. Trump further urged states to pursue the death penalty for crimes involving police officers and ensured a steady supply of drugs for lethal injections. The rise in executions is particularly pronounced in Florida, where 40% of all U.S. executions took place in 2025. By mid-2026, 12 of the 19 executions had occurred in the state, making it the largest contributor to the national increase. Experts attribute this to Governor Ron DeSantis, who has actively supported policies that ease the path to capital punishment. In 2023, Florida reduced the number of jurors needed to recommend the death penalty from 12 to eight, lowering the legal threshold for capital convictions. Additionally, the state made sexual battery on minors under 12 a capital offense. DeSantis has framed the death penalty as a necessary deterrent, emphasizing its role in punishing the most severe offenses. Justin Mazzola of Amnesty International USA notes that the full impact of these policy shifts will not be evident for years due to the lengthy legal process, including multiple appeals, that typically accompany capital cases. While the federal government has not carried out any executions since Trump’s executive order, state-level actions continue to drive the overall trend. Meanwhile, international attention has focused on the use of the death penalty in other regions. The European Union and 26 countries, including France, the UK, and Canada, condemned Iran’s executions of protesters, calling for an immediate halt to capital punishment and urging the release of detainees. These nations emphasized that using the death penalty to silence dissent is unjustifiable. Similarly, Lebanon’s parliament recently voted to abolish the death penalty, becoming the first Middle Eastern country to formally end capital punishment. The legislation replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment with hard labor, though details on implementation remain unclear. Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 2004, and over 78 individuals remain on death row. The decision followed years of advocacy by civil society groups and legal professionals. In contrast, Jordan has resumed executions, conducting its first since 2017, while Israel’s parliament approved legislation expanding the scope of capital punishment for those involved in the Hamas attacks and hostage-taking in 2023. Globally, the use of the death penalty continues to draw criticism, with the UN human rights chief expressing concern over its increasing use in Iran, where at least 56 people have been executed on national security charges since March 19, including 27 linked to the anti-government protests in January.