Advocates call Alabama execution an ‘avoidable disaster’

ATMORE, Ala. — Defenders of a condemned inmate in Alabama are calling his execution an “avoidable disaster,” but the state prison commissioner says there was no visible evidence that he suffered during a lethal injection.

Death row inmate Ronald Bert Smith Jr. coughed, and his upper body heaved repeatedly, for the 13 minutes as he was being sedated, and his arms appeared to move slightly after two tests were administered to determine consciousness.

Smith’s attorneys said in a statement Friday that the movements show that he “was not anesthetized at any point during the agonizingly long procedure.”

Alabama’s Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn disputes the assessment that Smith was in pain, saying Alabama properly followed a lethal injection protocol that has been upheld by the courts.

“Early in the execution, Smith, with eyes closed, did cough but at no time during the execution was there observational evidence that he suffered,” Dunn said. He said a required autopsy will determine if there were any irregularities.

Smith was sentenced to die for shooting convenience store clerk Casey Wilson in the head during a 1994 robbery. A jury recommended a life sentence by a 7-5 vote, but a judge imposed the death penalty, likening the slaying of the pistol-whipped clerk to an execution-style killing.

Smith’s final movements during the lethal injection will likely be fiercely debated as Alabama resumes executions after years of litigation and a drug shortage. Inmate advocates argue that Alabama’s process is too flawed and secretive, raising the risk of botched executions.

“No autopsy can measure the extent of Ron Smith’s suffering as he died. We are profoundly disappointed that the state and courts failed to intervene at any stage and take steps to prevent this avoidable disaster. We will continue our own efforts to make sure this suffering does not occur again,” said Smith’s lawyers with the Alabama Federal Defenders Program. Gerald Herbert / The Associated Press

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., talks to supporters of John Kennedy, at Kennedy’s election watch party, in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday. Kennedy won the senate seat vacated by Vitter.