New trial date set in 2019 over state’s execution drugs

A trial on the constitutionality of the state’s threedrug execution protocol was scheduled on Monday to begin the week of April 22, 2019, in a Little Rock federal courtroom. The Arkansas attorney general’s office recently sought the postponement of the trial, which was to begin Nov. 26 before U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker. Attorneys for a group of death-row inmates who are challenging the protocol — in particular, use of the drug midazolam, the first drug administered — responded that they wouldn’t object as long as the state agrees not to schedule any executions to occur before the trial. Baker met with attorneys Friday. According to the Associated Press, an attorney for the state told the judge it is “highly unlikely” the state will search for or acquire new execution drugs, or set execution dates, before spring. Baker then agreed to postpone the trial date, but she didn’t set a new date until Monday. The inmates are challenging the use of a 500mg dose of midazolam, a sedative they fear won’t be powerful enough to render them unconscious before the injection of the next two drugs — a paralytic and then potassium chloride, which stops the heart. They say they are likely to experience excruciating pain from the other two drugs but that the use of the paralytic will prevent them from communicating any distress. The prisoners recently amended their lawsuit to add concerns stemming from last year’s executions of four men. They have raised questions about the effectiveness of consciousness checks that were required during the execution process. Assistant federal public defenders John C. Williams and Scott Braden said they wanted the state to assure them that no executions would be set until the constitutionality of the current protocol is determined. They said they wanted to avoid being spread too thin if needed to defend the condemned prisoners on more than one issue at a time. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt noted that prison officials have said they won’t seek new execution drugs until the Legislature agrees to keep the names of manufacturers secret. Distributors of the drug are already protected from disclosure. Several manufacturers of drugs used by states to carry out executions have said they don’t want their drugs used for that purpose.