HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The last time a state put more than one inmate to death on the same day was more than 16 years ago when Texas executed two condemned killers in back-to-back lethal injections.
They were declared dead 33 minutes apart. And other than the moment when one of the men lashed out at family members and police officers, the executions went quietly and without difficulties.
Not even Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state, has scheduled multiple executions in a single day in recent years. In today's capital punishment landscape, death penalty opponents are as vocal as ever and some states have struggled with drug shortages, legal challenges and flawed executions.
Arkansas is planning a double execution Monday, the first since the one in Texas in 2000. It has drawn criticism.