diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ea7fbf9..a92c9a8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## v3.5.7 (2024-04-17)
+## v3.6.0 (2024-04-18)
 
 ### Updates
 
  * modified dict response for `executeStmt`
+ * modified error response for `execute`
 
 ## v3.5.4 (2024-04-11)
 
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 843e6a3..777044d 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -194,4 +194,4 @@ To publish the package to PyPI, run the following command:
 
 ::
 
-    twine upload --config-file .pypirc dist/pystackql-3.5.7.tar.gz
+    twine upload --config-file .pypirc dist/pystackql-3.6.0.tar.gz
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index a9bc4c4..ca299d9 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 # The short X.Y version
 version = ''
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
-release = '3.5.7'
+release = '3.6.0'
 
 
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/pystackql/stackql.py b/pystackql/stackql.py
index 102d836..bf0a561 100644
--- a/pystackql/stackql.py
+++ b/pystackql/stackql.py
@@ -176,8 +176,17 @@ def _run_query(self, query):
 		:type query: str
 
 		:return: The output result of the query, which can either be the actual query result or an error message.
-		:rtype: str
+		:rtype: dict
+
+		Example:
+			::
 
+				{
+					"data": "[{\"machine_type\": \"n1-standard-1\", \"status\": \"RUNNING\", \"num_instances\": 3}, ...]",
+					"error": "stderr message if present",
+					"exception": "ERROR: {\"exception\": \"<exception message>\", \"doc\": \"<exception doc>\", \"params\": \"<params>\", \"stdout\": \"<stdout>\", \"stderr\": \"<stderr>\"}
+				}
+		
 		Possible error messages include:
 		- Indications that the StackQL binary wasn't found.
 		- Generic error messages for other exceptions encountered during the query execution.
@@ -219,11 +228,6 @@ def _run_query(self, query):
 			}
 			output["exception"] = f"ERROR: {json.dumps(error_details)}"
 
-		# output = {'data': <stdout str>, 'error': <stderr str>, 'exception': <exception as a json string> }
-		# for a statement you would expect 'error' to exist
-		# for a query you would expect 'data' to exist
-		# 'exception' in output indicates an error occurred during the execution (statement or query)
-
 		return output
 
 	def __init__(self, 
@@ -487,12 +491,20 @@ def executeStmt(self, query):
 			else:
 				return result
 		else:
+
 			# returns either...
 			# {'error': '<error message>'} if something went wrong; or
 			# {'message': '<message>'} if the statement was executed successfully
+
 			result = self._run_query(query)
 			if "exception" in result:
-				return {"error": result["exception"]}
+				exception_msg = result["exception"]
+				if self.output == 'pandas':
+					return pd.DataFrame({'error': [exception_msg]}) if exception_msg else pd.DataFrame({'error': []})
+				elif self.output == 'csv':		
+					return exception_msg
+				else:		
+					return {"error": exception_msg}
 
 			# message on stderr
 			message = result["error"]
@@ -543,35 +555,57 @@ def execute(self, query, suppress_errors=True):
 				return result
 		else:
 			# returns either...
-			# {'error': <error json str>} if something went wrong; or
-			# [{<data>}] if the statement was executed successfully, messages to stderr are ignored
+			# [{'error': <error json str>}] if something went wrong; or
+			# [{<row1>},...] if the statement was executed successfully, messages to stderr are ignored
 
 			output = self._run_query(query)
 			if "exception" in output:
-				return {"error": output["exception"]}
+				exception_msg = output["exception"]
+				if self.output == 'pandas':
+					return pd.DataFrame({'error': [exception_msg]}) if exception_msg else pd.DataFrame({'error': []})
+				elif self.output == 'csv':		
+					return exception_msg
+				else:		
+					return [{"error": exception_msg}]
 
 			if "data" in output:
+				data = output["data"]
 				# theres data, return it
 				if self.output == 'csv':
-					return output["data"]
+					return data
 				elif self.output == 'pandas':
 					try:
-						return pd.read_json(StringIO(output["data"]))
+						return pd.read_json(StringIO(data))
 					except ValueError:
 						return pd.DataFrame([{"error": "Invalid JSON output"}])
 				else:  # Assume 'dict' output
 					try:
-						return json.loads(output["data"])
+						return json.loads(data)
 					except ValueError:
-						return {"error": f"Invalid JSON output : {output['data']}"}            
-			else:
-				if "error" in output:
-					if suppress_errors:
-						return []
-					else:
-						return {"error": output["error"]}
+						return [{"error": f"Invalid JSON output : {data}"}]
+
+			if "error" in output:
+				# theres no data but there is stderr from the request, could be an expected error like a 404
+				if suppress_errors:
+					# we dont care about errors, return an empty list
+					csv_ret = ""
+					pd_ret = pd.DataFrame()
+					dict_ret = []
+				else:
+					# we care about errors, return the error
+					err_msg = output["error"]
+					csv_ret = err_msg
+					pd_ret = pd.DataFrame([{"error": err_msg}])
+					dict_ret = [{"error": err_msg}]
+					  				
+				if self.output == 'csv':
+					return csv_ret
+				elif self.output == 'pandas':
+					return pd_ret
+				else:  # Assume 'dict' output
+					return dict_ret
+				
 
-	#
 	# asnyc query support
 	#
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 1f0bb9f..44984bc 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 setup(
     name='pystackql',
-    version='3.5.7',
+    version='3.6.0',
     description='A Python interface for StackQL',
     long_description=readme,
     author='Jeffrey Aven',