Arkansas attorney general asks governor to schedule executions for 8 inmates after decade gap

By Claudia Lauer, The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas’ attorney general has asked Gov. Asa Hutchinson to set execution dates for eight death row inmates in what would be the state’s first executions in a decade.

A spokesman for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge confirmed Tuesday that the request was made. Hutchinson’s spokesman said the governor did not have an immediate timeline for when he would set the dates.

The Arkansas Department of Correction purchased enough of the three drugs used in the state’s new execution protocol, which were received in early July, to perform the executions. A state law passed this year lets the department buy the drugs secretly, as in other states.

According to an invoice in which the name of the supplier is blacked out, the department paid $24,226 for the three drugs needed for lethal injections, including the sedative midazolam.

Midazolam was implicated after executions last year in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma went on longer than expected, with inmates gasping and groaning as they died. The U.S. Supreme Court in June approved continued use of the drug, rejecting a challenge from three Oklahoma inmates now set to be put to death in September and October.

Rutledge’s spokesman Judd Deere said there were eight letters sent, one for each of the inmates.

“These individuals were sentenced to death for the heinous crimes they committed,” Rutledge wrote in an emailed response. “It is far past time that the sentences be carried out and justice served. I urge the governor to move forward with setting execution dates as quickly as possible.”

The eight men have exhausted their court appeals for their criminal convictions, but the inmates filed a joint lawsuit in April when the law was passed allowing the state to keep the manufacturer of the drugs a secret.

Attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, who represents the eight inmates, said Tuesday he will try to delay any execution date the governor might set.

“We are still pursuing our lawsuit and we’ll be pursuing all remedies to make sure they aren’t executed until the lawsuit is resolved,” he said. “We think it will be resolved in a way that does not allow the state to execute them under the protocol they are wanting to pursue … particularly them wanting to keep secret whether they received the drugs from a reputable source or some fly-by-night operation.”

Arkansas has not executed an inmate since 2005, when Eric Nance was executed for the killing of an 18-year-old girl. The state’s execution procedures had been challenged in court In the years since. Executions were delayed by drug shortages and the inmates’ standard appeals.

Under the new protocol approved in early August, Arkansas will administer midazolam to knock the inmate out, then use vecuronium bromide as a paralytic and then potassium chloride to stop the heart.

___

This story has been corrected to show the execution drugs were received by the state in early July, not late July.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today