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Vol. 81/No. 17 May 1, 2017
US, state courts halt Arkansas executions
AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel
In a series of see-saw legal battles, from the U.S. Supreme Court to
state courts, so far Arkansas authorities have been prevented from
implementing plans to execute eight prisoners over an 11-day period, the
first executions scheduled there in more than a decade. First, federal
District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction April 15,
saying the proposed method of execution could expose them to “severe
pain,” violating the Eighth Amendment protection against “cruel and
unusual” punishment.
The day before the judge’s ruling, supporters of the Arkansas Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty rallied by the state Capitol in Little
Rock, above.
At issue is use of midazolam, a sedative that is supposed to render
inmates unconscious while two other drugs paralyze and kill them. Use of
midazolam has led to botched executions with prolonged torture in at
least four states: Alabama, Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson rushed to set all the executions for April
because the state’s supply of midazolam expires at the end of the month.
The U.S. Circuit Court in St. Louis overturned Baker’s ruling. Then the
U.S. Supreme Court and state Supreme Court put stays on the first two
executions, preventing them from taking place April 17. Two other
executions were put off earlier by court rulings.
— BRIAN WILLIAMS
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