Judge halts Alabama execution; procedure challenged

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama death row inmate won a last-minute reprieve Thursday just hours before he was set to receive a lethal injection.

A federal judge temporarily halted the execution of Jeffery Lynn Borden, 56, while Borden and other Alabama inmates challenge the humaneness of the state’s lethal injection procedure. The state attorney general’s office said it would not appeal the decision Thursday evening because there wasn’t enough time to fight the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court before the death warrant expired at midnight.

In granting the stay, U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins noted that he was under a mandate from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hold additional proceedings in the lawsuit.

The three-judge panel last month ruled that Watkins prematurely dismissed inmates’ claims and ordered additional proceedings. The panel on Sept. 29 issued an order blocking Borden’s execution for at least two weeks.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday overruled the 11th Circuit and said the execution could proceed. Borden made the successful bid for a stay Thursday morning.

Borden and other inmates challenging the humaneness of the lethal injection procedure argue that the state planned to use an inadequate sedative before giving them drugs to stop their lungs and heart.