What’s New
Three shipments of drugs imported by the Arizona Department of Corrections were represented to U.S. Customs and FDA officials as being for use on animals despite being intended for use in inmate executions. Read more here:
Execution dates have now been set 1 week apart for Daniel Wayne Cook and Eric King. Mr. King is scheduled to be executed on March 29th, while Mr. Cook is scheduled to be executed on April 5th.
This morning the Arizona Supreme Court granted the State’s motions for warrants of execution in two cases. Warrants will issue shortly for Daniel Wayne Cook and Eric King. Both men are plaintiffs in the recently-filed lawsuit against the FDA regarding the importation of sodium thiopental.
A joint effort between the Arizona Justice Project and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, offering postconviction DNA testing to inmates convicted of rape and murder, has led to its first exoneration. John Watkins was wrongly convicted of rape in 2003. He spent more than 7 years in prison before DNA testing proved his innocence.
Read more about the case at the Justice Project.
The venerable Arizona litigator and Project board member shares his insights on public perception of the judiciary in the death penalty context.
http://maricopabar.org/associations/8668/files/DECEMBER%202010%20ML-FINAL.pdf (at page 3)
Yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to issue a warrant for the execution of Daniel Wayne Cook. The Court continued the matter, ordering the Attorney General’s office to respond to Mr. Cook’s supplemental brief on the matter of the state’s procurement of Sodium Thiopental. In October, the Court refused to delay the execution of Jeffrey Landrigan, despite similar questions about the source of the drug.
Read more about the issue in the Arizona Republic.
