Liberal justices oppose Supreme Court’s approval of Alabama execution.
The Supreme Court’s Liberal Justices Rebuke Decision to Allow Execution
The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, strongly criticized the majority’s decision to proceed with the execution of an Alabama death row inmate. The inmate, James Barber, had raised concerns about the state’s history of botched lethal injection procedures.
The court’s 6-3 Republican-appointed majority declined to block Barber’s execution, which took place in the early hours of the morning.
“Just last year in Alabama, in three consecutive executions by lethal injection, prison officials spent multiple hours digging for prisoners’ veins in an attempt to set IV lines. Two of the men survived and reported experiencing extreme pain, including, in one case, nerve pain equivalent to electrocution,”
Sotomayor wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The trio argued that the 8th Amendment requires more than just the state’s assurance that the execution would proceed smoothly.
Alabama had reviewed its procedures following the series of problematic executions, which convinced both the majority of the Supreme Court and the lower courts that the execution should proceed.
“Today’s decision is another troubling example of this court stymying the development of Eighth Amendment law by pushing forward executions without complete information,”
Sotomayor added.
Background on James Barber’s Case
James Barber, 64, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 75-year-old Dorothy Epps in May 2001. He admitted to killing her with a claw hammer at her home in Harvest, Alabama, and stealing her purse.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall described Barber as a handyman who knew Epps through repair work and a previous relationship with her daughter. Barber was arrested shortly after the murder and expressed remorse, stating that he deserved to be charged and put to death.
Barber’s execution marks the first in the state since Governor Kay Ivey ordered a review of lethal injection procedures last fall. The review led to changes in the state’s prison system, including an increase in medical professionals, new equipment, and more rehearsal of execution procedures.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm confirmed these changes.
Barber’s execution follows the recent execution of Jemaine Cannon in Oklahoma for a 1995 murder.
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