Following a third unsuccessful execution by lethal injection attempt within the past four years, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, has issued an order for a “top-to-bottom review of execution protocol” in the state and has asked for a temporary halt in the state’s executions.
The execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith was halted on Thursday, and Ivey’s order comes after it because state officials could not discover a vein that was acceptable for injecting the medicines that cause death.
It was the third time since 2018 that the state has been unable to carry out its preparations to put an inmate to death. This was the second time in the preceding two months that the state has failed to carry out plans to execute an inmate. In addition, the state was forced to postpone an execution that finally went well for three hours earlier this year due to problems.
Ivey issued a statement in which she emphasized the importance of rectifying the situation “for the sake of the victims and their families.” “I just cannot, in good faith, bring the family of another victim to Holman in search of justice and closure until I am satisfied that we can carry out the legal penalty,” the victim’s father said. “It would be irresponsible of me.”
The facility that administers fatal injections in the state of Alabama is located at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Ivey has stated that she is collaborating with John Hamm, the Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner, to “guarantee that the state can successfully deliver justice going ahead.”
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“Everything is on the table,” Hamm said in a statement about the investigation, “from our legal strategy in dealing with last-minute appeals, to how we train and prepare, to the order and timing of events on execution day, to the personnel and equipment involved.” Hamm made these comments in response to a question about the scope of the investigation.
Ivey has also ordered that the state Attorney General, who is a Republican and is named Steve Marshall, wait until the study is finished before requesting any new execution dates for individuals who are currently on death row.
There are just two death row inmates in the state who do not yet have an execution date scheduled for them. According to a report by the Associated Press, Marshall has not yet responded whether or not he will obey Ivey’s request.
Ivey refuted the argument that the Department of Corrections was too responsible for the problems by saying it was irrelevant. “I believe that legal tactics and criminals hijacking the system are at play here,” she said in a statement. According to Robert Dunham, executive director of The Death Penalty Information Center, who spoke with the Associated Press, the investigation ought to be conducted by a third party that is entirely impartial.
“The Alabama Department of Corrections has a history of denying and bending the truth about its execution failures, and it cannot be trusted to investigate its incompetence and wrongdoing meaningfully,” he said. “The Alabama Department of Corrections has a history of denying and bending the truth about its execution failures.” However, Hamm said that he was confident his department was “fully committed to this effort and confident that we can get this done right.”
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