Arkansas governor: Only ‘routine’ review of execution needed
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ governor says he sees no reason for anything beyond a routine review of the state’s execution procedures after a condemned inmate lurched and convulsed 20 times during a lethal injection that involved a controversial sedative.
Attorneys for Kenneth Williams called for a full investigation yesterday after Williams became the fourth convicted killer executed in Arkansas in eight days as the state sought to carry out as many lethal injections as possible before its supply of midazolam expires.
“I think it’s totally unjustified,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters when asked about the possibility of an independent probe. “You don’t call for an independent investigation unless there’s some reason for it.”
A federal judge yesterday granted a request from Williams’ attorneys to preserve evidence from the dead inmate’s body.
Hutchinson said Williams’ execution will be reviewed by the Department of Correction, which is typical any time an inmate is put to death. He said a written report would not be issued.
The governor said he does not think Arkansas needs to change its execution protocol, citing court rulings that have upheld the use of midazolam, which has also been used in flawed executions in other states. But he has not ordered prison officials to find a replacement for Arkansas’ supply of the drug, which expires tomorrow.
An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said that about three minutes in, Williams’ body jerked 15 times in quick succession, lurching violently against the leather restraint across his chest.
Arkansas had planned eight executions over an 11-day period, the most ambitious schedule since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. But courts issued stays for four of the inmates. The four lethal injections that were carried out included Monday’s first double execution in the U.S. since 2000.