Missouri prepares for 8th execution of 2014
Source: Associated Press
Missouri prepares for 8th execution of 2014
By JIM SALTER, Associated Press | September 9, 2014 | Updated: September 9, 2014 9:45pm
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to halt the execution of a Missouri inmate, hours before he was scheduled to be put to death.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a stay of execution for Earl Ringo Jr., who faces lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for killing two people while robbing a Columbia restaurant in 1998.
It would be the eighth execution in Missouri this year and the 10th since November.
The appeal questioned Missouri's use of the sedative midazolam before executions, claiming it could dull the inmate's senses, leaving him potentially unable to express any pain. Defense attorney Richard Sindel appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
St. Louis Public Radio reported last week that Missouri used midazolam before each of the last nine executions. Corrections spokesman David Owen said the drug can be administered at the request of the inmate or at the direction of officials with the corrections department. It wasn't clear what circumstances would prompt an inmate to get the sedative if he didn't want it.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Missouri-prepares-for-8th-execution-of-2014-5743663.php
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