Life and Death Row: Arkansas's condemned fear triple execution
Source: BBC
Life and Death Row: Arkansas's condemned fear triple execution
In 2017, Arkansas executed four condemned men ahead of the expiry of a batch of lethal injection drugs. This year, with more drugs set to expire, campaigners fear another 'mass execution'
Ben Bryant
19 February 2018
It became known as ‘the conveyor belt of death' with the media dubbing it a 'mass execution'. The state of Arkansas planned to execute eight condemned men over an 11-day period in April 2017. It had been 12 years since the state’s last execution, and following the announcement, Governor Asa Hutchinson made a surprising disclosure: the executions had been scheduled due to the imminent expiry of a batch of lethal injection drugs.
The decision to execute eight men before the expiry of Arkansas's cache of midazolam – a drug that is used medicinally in anaesthesia – made headlines around the world. It’s the topic of a new BBC Three documentary: Life and Death Row.
There was a series of frantic legal appeals, which resulted in three of the eight men being granted temporary reprieves, and one being granted clemency. The other four were executed. The media attention gradually receded.
But the story is far from over. In the coming weeks, another batch of Arkansas's lethal injection drugs is due to expire.
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The lives of Don Davis, Bruce Ward and Jack Greene now hang in the balance. They are all in the middle of final appeals which will determine whether or not they receive the lethal injection, which is made up of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.
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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/a959bfd4-1849-4808-942e-2045823671f9
