One of the convicts survived after those in charge of administering the lethal injection could not find the right vein to supply him with the lethal cocktail of three drugs.
The governor of Alabama (USA), Kay Ivey, ordered this Monday to suspend the executions of prisoners who are sentenced to death in the state after several failed attempts to kill with lethal injection, local media reported.
“I simply cannot, in good conscience, bring another victim’s family to Holman for justice and closure until I am confident that we can carry out the legal judgment,” Ivey said in a statement.
Ivey’s order comes after several executions have had to be postponed due to errors in the protocol required to carry out death sentences.
One of the inmates, Alan Eugene Miller, was to be executed on September 22. However, he survived after those in charge of administering the lethal injection could not find the right vein to give him the lethal three-drug cocktail intravenously. Likewise, another convict, Kenneth Eugene Smith, survived his execution on November 17 after experiencing the same situation.
The governor reportedly asked Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s death penalty process and demanded steps to ensure Alabama can successfully serve justice in the future.
“I agree with Governor Ivey that we have to get this right for the good of the victims,” said Hamm, who also stressed that the Alabama Department of Corrections is fully committed to this job and is confident they will get it right.
Source: RT
