Death Penalty

While the scheduling of Troy Davis for execution (despite the fact that he has never had a hearing on the seven of nine non-police witnesses who have recanted their trial testimony) still sinks in, there is also some good news to report.   

In Texas, a hearing on whether a judge and prosecutor were having an affair during a death penalty trial has now been rescheduled so that it takes place BEFORE the execution.  So that's something. 

And in both Missouri and Arkansas, executions have been stayed due to ongoing legal battles over lethal injection.  As predicted by several Justices, the Supreme Court decision in Baze v. Rees has not ended the litigation of that issue.

In Missouri, John Middleton, scheduled for execution on September 17, will join several others in a lawsuit which, according to the Trenton (MO) Republican Times, argues "that the Missouri Department of Corrections did not comply with the requirements to provide notice and invite public comment on the lethal injection protocol, nor did it advise a legislative rules committee." Oral arguments in that case are set for October 7. 

In Arkansas, AP reported today that Frank Williams Jr. will not be executed as scheduled on September 9 for basically the same reason: that the state did not follow the proper procedures in developing a new protocol for lethal injection. 

According to the Arkansas News Bureau, "Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox ruled Aug. 28 that the state cannot use its new execution procedures on Williams because the procedures were not subjected to a public review in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act." 

This ruling is being challenged by the state, but in the meantime, all executions are off, and the Arkansas Supreme Court today decline to speed things up.

It is interesting to note that while executions continue to be stopped with these somewhat technical arguments about complying with proper administrative procedure, compelling evidence of a major injustice doesn't even seem to merit a hearing.  

Brian

DPAC