Alabama death row inmate James Barber was executed early Friday after the US Supreme Court denied his request for a stay on fears he could suffer “substantial harm” following a series of failed lethal injection attempts in the state.
The execution was carried out by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Center in Atmore, the Alabama Department of Corrections said in a statement. Barber, a convicted murderer, was pronounced dead by a doctor at 1:56 a.m. local time (2:56 a.m. ET), the department said.
Barber, 64, had been on death row for nearly 20 years for the 2001 robbery and murder of Dorothy Epps75-year-old homeowner for whom he worked as a handyman.
The execution unfolded after a federal appeals court panel on Wednesday denied Barber’s request to block his execution for fears he could be subject to “substantial harm” in a miss 2-1.
His execution marks the first in Alabama since a lull on capital punishment sparked by a series of botched lethal injections was lifted in February.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
