Gov. Kay Ivey has suspended executions in Alabama and called for a “holistic review” after prison officials canceled two straight scheduled executions.
Alabama abandoned its scheduled execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith before midnight on November 17 after the execution team struggled to find a vein for the lethal injection. Similar problems prevented the state from proceeding with the scheduled Sept. 22 execution of Alan Eugene Miller.
In both cases, the appeals filed for the convicts continued well into the evening. The U.S. Supreme Court authorized Alabama to proceed with each scheduled execution — Miller just after 9 p.m. on September 22 and Smith around 10:20 p.m. on November 17 — but the state could not complete preparations before theirs Death sentences expired at midnight.
More:Social justice groups are calling for a moratorium on executions
Ivey blamed these legal maneuvers, and not state prison officials, for the state not executing the men.
“I don’t accept for a second the narrative being pushed by activists that these issues are the fault of the Corrections people or anyone in law enforcement. I believe legal tactics and criminals hijacking the system are at play here,” she said in a statement released Monday morning.
In the Smith case, the state appears not to have waited for the Supreme Court decision to begin preparations. His attorneys say Smith was strapped to the death chamber stretcher at Holman Correctional Facility for four hours even though his request for a stay before US 11 was pendingth district court. Smith, 57, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett.
The state’s scheduled September 22 execution of Miller was halted before midnight when the execution team was unable to place IV access in his arms, hands and right foot for more than an hour, based on Miller’s memory of the night. Miller has since sued the state to prevent a second attempt, and the state is said to have negotiated a settlement with him.
Miller was sentenced to death in 1999 for the murders of three men in two workplace shootings in Shelby County.
The governor said she made her decision with consideration for the victims’ families, who are awaiting execution and are urging closure and justice. “I just cannot in good conscience bring another victim’s family to Holman seeking justice and closure until I am confident that we can execute the final sentence,” she said in a statement.
The state executed Joe Nathan James Jr. on July 28 after a three-hour delay during which the team struggled to find suitable veins for the lethal injection, prison officials later reported.
It is still unclear what else could have happened before the lethal injection was administered: When media witnesses were allowed into the audience area, James neither opened his eyes nor showed any intentional movements. He didn’t speak when asked if he had any last words.
ADOC officials later said James was not sedated, but could not say if he was “conscious” before being given the lethal dose. The state has denied attempts by the advertiser to review records of James’ execution, including transcripts and the qualifications of those tasked with preparing inmates for execution.
More:James’ death was “protracted and painful,” says a reporter who witnessed a private autopsy
James was executed for the 1994 murder of his former Birmingham girlfriend, Faith Hall. Several members of Hall’s family, including her children, asked Ivey to commute the sentence, but she declined, saying she considers the feelings of the victim’s family but must “always fulfill our responsibilities to the law, public safety and the justice system.” “.
Alabama Justice Department Commissioner John Hamm said the ADOC’s review of execution procedures will be far-reaching.
“Everything is on the table – from our legal strategy in dealing with last-minute appeals, our training and preparation, the order and timing of events on execution day, to the personnel and equipment involved,” Hamm said in a statement. “The Alabama Department of Corrections is fully committed to this effort and is confident that we can do this right.”
Paige O. Windsor is the managing editor of the Montgomery Advertiser. You can reach her at [email protected]