The state of Alabama aims to successfully execute Death Row inmate James Barber tonight after its past two attempts on other inmates failed. Barber is set to be executed by 6 a.m. Friday for the beating death of a 75-year-old Harvest woman 22 years ago.
James Barber is set to be executed for the 2001 beating death of Dorothy Epps. The Alabama Department of Corrections has released some details about how James Barber spent his last 24 hours before his scheduled execution Thursday night.
In a filing to the Supreme Court responding to the state’s filing, Barber’s attorneys reiterated that he is in danger of a painful, prolonged attempts to establish IV lines that will carry a combination of fatal drugs into his body. The situation could resemble the two aborted execution attempts last year because IV lines could not be established, the filing said.
“This case presents a much narrower issue: whether there can ever be an Eighth Amendment violation through repeated punctures to establish IV access, no matter how many futile attempts are made or for how long,” the reply from Barber’s attorneys said. “The 11th Circuit’s answer to that question was ‘no,’ but this court has repeatedly made clear that a punishment which ‘superadds’ pain well beyond what’s needed to effectuate a death sentence’ is, in fact, cruel.
Referring back to the failed attempts at executing Kenneth Smith in November 2022 and Alan Miller in Sepember 2022, the state wrote in its response, “Due to a confluence of events—including health issues specific to the individual inmates and last-minute litigation brought by the inmates that dramatically shortened the window for ADOC officials to conduct the executions—two of the executions had to be called off when the team could not gain intravenous access.
Such a method would “completely avoid the risk of such needless physical and emotional suffering ,” the appeal said. The 11 Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument Wednesday from Barber in a 2-1 decision. James Barber is set to be executed by 6 a.m. Friday for the beating death of a 75-year-old Harvest woman 22 years ago. The execution is expected to begin no earlier than 6 p.m. Thursday.
An updated, redacted version of the department’s lethal injection protocol, attached to Barber’s federal lawsuit, shows the IV team will have “more professionals” who “shall be currently certified or licensed within the United States.” The redacted protocol does not specify which license must be held.rejected Barber’s appeals to stop the execution
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