Arkansas faces new court fight over sedative for executions

1 / 3FILE--In this Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge speaks to reporters at Trump Tower, in New York. A federal lawsuit filed by death row inmates in Arkansas has renewed a court fight over whether the sedative Arkansas uses for lethal injections causes torturous executions, two years after the state raced to put eight convicted killers to death in 11 days before its batch expired.

But, Dunham added,"states that are watching because they want to figure out how to just execute people will be looking to see what Arkansas is able to get away with." State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says the inmates in the case have a very high burden to meet and cites a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month against a Missouri death row inmate. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority in that case, wrote that the U.S. Constitution"does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death." Rutledge called the federal case in Arkansas the latest attempt by death row inmates to delay their sentences from being carried out.

Much of the trial over Arkansas' process will focus on midazolam, which critics have said doesn't render inmates fully unconscious before the other lethal injection drugs are administered. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld midazolam's use in executions in 2015, but its use continues to prompt legal challenges nationwide.

Attorneys for a group of death row inmates argue that two of Arkansas' executions in 2017 demonstrate the problems with midazolam. One execution cited is that of convicted murderer Kenneth Williams, who witnesses said lurched and convulsed 20 times before he died. Another inmate, Marcel Williams, arched his back and breathed heavily during his execution, according to a witness.

We should just put all prisoners who are expected to be executed to watch non stop episodes of The View, Obama’s stuttering speeches and Rachel Maddow’s shows

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Denials of U.S. immigrant visas skyrocket after little-heralded rule changeBalbino, a 33-year-old Mexican national who had entered the United States illegally 14 years ago, thought he had a strong case for a spousal visa: a wife and children who are U.S. citizens, a father-in-law who had pledged in an affidavit to financially support him if necessary, and a letter from his I saw 3 kids get turned away in DUB and put back on the next flight to LAX because they didn't have proof of support for a 7 day trip. I'm doubting most of the CBP/ICE/DHS abolishinists have been outside the States. Takes until paragraph 25 for this yahoo news article to FINALLY state that the specific person denied in this article was denied because his children had been on medicaid. That is NOT how journalism works. I only kept reading because I knew the article was missing a key fact.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »