Execution of Alabama prisoner called off because of lethal injection problems

Alabama’s execution of a man convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife was called off on Thursday just before the midnight deadline because state officials could not find a suitable vein to inject the lethal drugs.

Alabama department of corrections commissioner John Hamm said prison staff tried for about an hour to get the two required intravenous lines connected to Kenneth Eugene Smith, 57.

Hamm said they established one line but were unsuccessful with a second line after trying several locations on Smith’s body. Officials then tried a central line, which involves a catheter placed into a large vein.

“We were not able to have time to complete that, so we called off the execution,” Hamm said.

It is the second execution since September the state has canceled because of difficulties with establishing an intravenous line with a deadline looming.

The US supreme court cleared the way for Smith’s execution when at about 10.20pm it lifted a stay issued earlier in the evening by the 11th US circuit court of appeals. But the state decided about an hour later that the lethal injection would not happen that evening.

The postponement came after

Smith’s final appeals focused on problems with intravenous lines at Alabama’s last two scheduled lethal injections. Because the death warrant expired at midnight, the state must go back to court to seek a new execution date.

Smith was returned to his regular cell on death row, a prison spokesperson said.

Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance. The slaying, and the revelations over who was behind it, rocked the small north Alabama community.

Alabama has faced scrutiny over its problems at recent lethal injections. In ongoing litigation, lawyers for inmates are seeking information about the qualifications of the execution team members responsible for connecting the lines.