March 16, 2010

Appeals court says Arkansas' death penalty process is constitutional

by The Associated Press

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Appeals court says Arkansas' death penalty process is constitutional

Story Published: Feb 8, 2010 at 12:05 PM CDT

Story Updated: Feb 8, 2010 at 12:05 PM CDT

AP-AR--Lethal Injection-Ark,0132 Court upholds Arkansas' lethal injection protocol Eds: APNewsNow. By JILL ZEMAN BLEED Associated Press Writer LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A federal appeals court upheld Arkansas' lethal injection procedure. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis finds the procedure is designed "to avoid the needless infliction of pain, not to cause it."

The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by three death-row inmates, including two who are scheduled to die over the next nine weeks. Terrick Nooner, Don Williams and Jack Jones Jr. challenged the constitutionality of Arkansas' execution procedures.

The appeals court ruled Monday that Arkansas' three-drug protocol is "substantially similar to, and perhaps even more thorough than," a Kentucky procedure upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jones is scheduled to die on March 16 for the death of a bookkeeper from Bald Knob, and has a clemency hearing set for Tuesday.

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