A US judge
has blocked the state from using a lethal injection drug in a planned execution
of seven inmates over 11 days. The scheduled "execution assembly
line" sparked outrage among civil rights organizations.
Deutsche Welle, 15 April 2017
Pulaski
County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen on Friday issued a temporary restraining
order blocking the state of Arkansas from using one of three lethal injection
drugs on seven death row inmates.
The ruling
on came as Arkansas prepared to put seven prisoners to death between Monday,
April 17, and Thursday, April 27. Last week, a judge stopped a planned eighth
execution.
'Execution
assembly line'
In what the
convicted inmates' defense attorneys decried as an "execution assembly
line," Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson scheduled seven executions to take
place over 11 days - three nights of double executions and one single one.
Arkansas
was reportedly rushing to perform the executions because the expiration date on
its supply of one of the drugs used in the lethal cocktail, Midazolam, is April
30.
If the plan
had gone ahead, it would have marked the most inmates executed by a state in
such a short period since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in
1976.
The eight death row inmates who were scheduled to be executed over 11 days |
According
to the local newspaper Arkansas Times, the drug's distibutor, McKesson, claimed
that the state had obtained the drug through deceit. The suppliers of the
muscle relaxant, vecuronium bromide, argued that it had been sold to the prison
system on the premise that it would be used for legitimate medical purposes
rather than executions.
Hollywood
and faith leaders
The plan to
execute the Arkansas inmates sparked outrage among civil rights and anti-death
penalty organizations. A rally against the executions held in the state
capital, Little Rock, on Friday was attended by hundreds of demonstrators,
including US actor Johnny Depp.
US actor Johnny Depp was among the protesters at the civil rights and anti-death penalty demonstration in Little Rock |
Prior to
Friday's court ruling, religious leaders and execution opponents also pointed
out that the first executions would have coincided with Easter Monday and
appealed in a letter to take mercy on the death row inmates and commute their
sentences to life in prison without parole.
Sister
Helen Prejean, a vocal anti-death penalty activist and inspiration for the film
"Dead Man Walking," tweeted that the fate of the eight Arkansas
prisoners ultimately rested in Governor Hutchinson's hands - and the
responsibility on his head.
For the record: @AsaHutchinson has sole authority to grant reprieves and commutations in Arkansas. The executions are on you, Governor.— Sister Helen Prejean (@helenprejean) April 11, 2017
The
conservative-leaning residents of Arkansas tend to defend the use of the death
penalty. A 2015 University of Arkansas poll revealed that 71 percent of the
state's respondents favored capital punishment for a person convicted of
murder. Nationwide approval was just over 60 percent, according to a Gallup
poll published last year.
Stay of
execution granted
In a
separate case, a stay of execution was granted to Bruce Ward. The 60-year-old
was due to be executed on Monday night for the 1989 death of Rebecca Doss, a
teenage shop clerk who worked in Little Rock.
The
Arkansas Supreme Court did not provide a reason for the decision, although
Ward's attorneys had previously argued that he is a diagnosed schizophrenic
with no rational understanding of his execution.
Lawsuit
over reputation fears
On
Thursday, two other pharmaceutical manufacturers also asked a federal judge to
block Arkansas from using their drugs. Midazolam, the drug in question, has
been criticized as contributing to several botched executions in other US
states.
Similar to
McKesson, drug companies West-Ward Pharmaceuticals and Fresenius Kabi USA
claimed that their drugs had been secured in an improper manner, and that their
use in executions could affect the ability to sell in Europe.
ksb/jm (AP, Reuters, epd)
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