Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Arkansas has carried out 27 executions, the 13th-highest total in that span. It has not executed an inmate since Eric Nance was put to death in 2005 for killing 18-year-old Julie Heath.
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A federal public defender is trying to stop the scheduled execution of Arkansas inmate Bruce Earl Ward, arguing he is suffering from schizophrenia and has been little help to his defense attorneys.
Friday’s ruling was made by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Wendell Griffen. “I will continue to fight for the victims of these murders and their grieving families”, Rutledge said.
Friday’s order applies to all nine inmates, but only eight of them have scheduled execution dates, the earliest being October. 21.
“Proceeding with Plaintiffs’ executions as scheduled, without allowing parties adequate time to conduct discovery, respond to all outstanding claims and motions, and proceed to a trial on the merits on Plaintiffs’ challenges to the Method of Execution Statute and the ADC’s execution protocol, will rob Plaintiffs of an opportunity to litigate their rights under the Arkansas Constitution”, Griffen wrote. In a separate filing, he denied most of the state’s request to dismiss the case and said within a few days he would schedule a hearing in the inmates’ ongoing case. Oklahoma prison officials said they used potassium chloride as the final drug in the lethal injection, but a newly released autopsy report shows that potassium acetate was used instead.
States have often turned to lightly regulated compounding pharmacies, which can mix chemicals, for their execution drugs.
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A flawed execution previous year in neighboring Oklahoma followed by an execution there last month being called off after the wrong drug was delivered to the death chamber have raised further questions about lethal injections.
