MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Lawyers for an Alabama inmate on death row asked a federal appeals court Monday to block his upcoming execution, arguing the state has a history of problems with lethal injections.
James Barber, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday as the state seeks to resume executions after a long hiatus.
Gov. Kay Ivey temporarily suspended executions last year after two lethal injections were canceled due to difficulties inserting an IV into the condemned’s veins. Advocacy groups called for a third execution to be carried out after a long delay was botched.
A panel of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit heard the arguments Monday, but did not indicate when they would be rendered.
“We can see what he went through last year; we have a very high possibility of substantial damage,” Barber’s attorney, Mara Klebaner, told the panel.
Richard Anderson, Alabama’s assistant attorney general, told the court that the state will use new IV equipment. He argued that this shows a “good faith” effort to correct any problems that have occurred. He said the state submitted documentation showing that the people responsible for setting up IV lines are properly licensed.
Klebaner argued that the state’s decision to choose a different IV team does not solve the problem.
“It’s like taking a different can of soda off the shelf at a factory that isn’t passing safety inspections,” he said.
After the internal review, Alabama also waived its customary midnight deadline to start an execution to give the state more time to set up an IV and fight last-minute legal appeals. The state will have until 6 am Friday morning to begin Barber’s execution.
Barber was convicted of the beating death of 75-year-old Dorothy Epps in 2001. Prosecutors said Barber, a handyman who knew Epps’s daughter, confessed to killing Epps with a hammer and fleeing with her purse. Jurors voted 11-1 to recommend a death sentence, which was imposed by a judge.
