The Cuban Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70 years old, was executed by lethal injection this Thursday at the State Penitentiary in Oklahoma, in McAlester, more than two decades after being sentenced to death for the murder of Olimpia Fisher, his partner and mother of two daughters.
The Oklahoma Correctional Department confirmed that Cuesta-Rodríguez was pronounced dead at 10:13 AM local time, following unsuccessful attempts by his attorneys and organizations opposed to the death penalty to prevent the execution, as reported by Oklahoma Voice.
The Cuban had been sentenced for the murder of Fisher, 43 years old, which occurred in 2003 in the home they shared in Oklahoma City.
According to the prosecution, the crime followed months of harassment and abuse against the woman. Cuesta-Rodríguez shot her twice in the eyes during an episode of violence partially witnessed by the victim's daughters.
One of them, who was pregnant, witnessed the first shot. The other heard the gunfire, found her mother injured, and tried to confront the attacker with a baseball bat before escaping and calling 911 from a neighbor's house.
The authorities stated that Fisher initially survived the first shot, but Cuesta-Rodríguez shot him again while the officers remained outside the house.
The confrontation with the police lasted approximately three hours. When the officers finally entered the residence, they found Fisher's body.
"It is time for me to pay for what I did."
In July, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 against recommending clemency to Governor Kevin Stitt.
During that hearing, Cuesta-Rodríguez himself stated that he did not want nor considered himself deserving of the pardon. "It's time for me to pay for what I did," he declared.
However, their lawyers had requested that a personal and clinical history be taken into account, which they argued was not properly presented during the trial.
Cuesta-Rodríguez arrived in the United States from Cuba during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, which brought about 125,000 Cubans to U.S. territory.
The defense argued that he had a childhood marked by physical abuse and later suffered a severe brain injury as a result of a bus accident.
His lawyers also stated that he suffered from depression, paranoia, psychosis, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and noted that he was consuming alcohol and steroids at the time he killed Fisher.
Those arguments did not succeed in stopping the execution.
He regained his Catholic faith on death row
Organizations opposed to the death penalty, including Catholic Mobilizing Network, also requested clemency from Governor Stitt.
The group emphasized that the Cuban had rediscovered his Catholic faith during his years of imprisonment and stated that his behavior in prison allowed him to become one of only four death row inmates selected to access a common yard within a less restrictive facility.
After his execution, family and friends released a statement in which they asserted the transformation he underwent during his years in prison.
They described her life as one of "extraordinary beauty and tenderness within the darkest conditions" and asserted that "her legacy will not be measured by her lowest moment, but by the countless moments that followed."
Olimpia Fisher's family responded from a different perspective, but they also turned to faith to discuss the more than 20 years that have passed since the crime.
Her daughters, Cinthya Allen and Catya Wallis, claimed to have forgiven the man who killed their mother.
"Our faith in Jesus has allowed us to forgive. We hope that this tragedy and this loss remind everyone of the importance of raising awareness about domestic violence," they expressed.
Oklahoma's Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, stated after the execution that the sentence had finally been carried out.
"Justice has been served for Olimpia Fisher, whose life was tragically cut short," he stated.
"I pray that their family finds some peace after enduring 23 years of unimaginable pain," he added.
For his part, the Archbishop of Oklahoma City, Paul S. Coakley, questioned the increasing application of the death penalty in the state.
"Today, I feel sadness as the loss of life continued with the execution of Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez by lethal injection," the religious leader stated in a message shared on his social media.
Coakley called for moving towards "a more humane form of justice" that keeps the possibility of redemption open and respects the dignity of all lives, even those of those who have committed serious offenses.
Three executions scheduled for the same day in the United States
The death of Cuesta-Rodríguez marked an unusual day for the application of the death penalty in the United States.
Its execution was the first of three scheduled for this Thursday in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Alabama, a coincidence that hasn't occurred since January 2010, revealed The Guardian.
The case also takes place amid a rise in executions in the country. During 2025, 47 people were executed, nearly double the number from the previous year, against a backdrop of increased activity in states that uphold the death penalty.
Related videos:
Filed under: