News
According to an investigation by the Arizona Republic, last summer the Department of Corrections spent nearly $27,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to illegally import lethal injection drugs from India. Federal officials seized the shipment, which was imported in violation of federal law. Read the full report here.
After briefly staying the execution of Joseph Wood, Arizona began the execution at 1:52. More than 90 minutes later, Mr. Wood was still alive and gasping for air. An emergency stay motion has been filed in District Court and the Arizona Supreme Court. emergencystay
The following is a statement from Dale Baich, one of Joseph Wood’s attorneys, regarding today’s execution:
“The experiment using midazolam combined with hydromorphone to carry out an execution failed today in Arizona. It took Joseph Wood two hours to die, and he gasped and struggled to breath for about an hour and forty minutes. We will renew our efforts to get information about the manufacturer of drugs as well as how Arizona came up with the experimental formula of drugs it used today. Arizona appears to have joined several other states who have been responsible for an entirely preventable horror — a bungled execution. The public should hold its officials responsible and demand to make this process more transparent.”
-Dale Baich
-July 23, 2014
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a last minute stay of the execution of Joseph Wood in order to consider Mr. Wood’s Petition for Review. Mr. Wood was scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m. MST/1 p.m EDT today.
The national death-row population is roughly 42 percent black—nearly three times the proportion in the general population. Read the article here:
At the link is a summary of the secrecy laws regarding the lethal injection protocols for the 13 states responsible for the greatest number of executions since 2005, including Arizona.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/what-13-states-are-not-telling-you-about-how-they-kill-peopl
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded Clabourne v. Ryan to the district court for consideration of whether Mr. Clabourne’s claim of ineffective assistance of sentencing counsel may be considered on the merits in light of Martinez v. Ryan. The Ninth Circuit denied relief on Mr. Clabourne’s remaining claims, including that the Arizona Supreme Court improperly applied a causal nexus requirement to his mitigating evidence. The opinion is below.
Citing inequality and imperfection, Governor Inslee declares a moratorium on Washington’s death penalty and welcomes national debate. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/11/washington-death-penalty-inslee/5394917/
