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Alabama's Last Two Executions Failed. They're Trying Again Next Week

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 04: Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall (C) walks towards members of the press after the oral argument of the Merrill v. Milligan case at the U.S. Supreme Court on October 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court heard oral argument of the case that challenge whether the new congressional map of Alabama violates the Voting Rights Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Alabama's Last Two Executions Failed. They're Trying Again Next Week

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 04: Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall (C) walks towards members of the press after the oral argument of the Merrill v. Milligan case at the U.S. Supreme Court on October 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court heard oral argument of the case that challenge whether the new congressional map of Alabama violates the Voting Rights Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Alabama's Last Two Executions Failed. They're Trying Again Next Week

James Barber is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Alabama, for the murder of Dorothy Epps in 2001. It's the first execution since Governor Kay Ivey paused capital punishment in the state and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of death penalty protocols after the state failed to execute two inmates last year. Host Scott Detrow speaks with The Atlantic's Elizabeth Bruenig. She reported extensively on Alabama's troubles with lethal injection last year. She says the state's process is very opaque, and almost nothing of the review was made public. Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert at Fordham Law School, says lethal injection problems are an issue all around the country. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 04: Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall (C) walks towards members of the press after the oral argument of the Merrill v. Milligan case at the U.S. Supreme Court on October 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court heard oral argument of the case that challenge whether the new congressional map of Alabama violates the Voting Rights Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Alex Wong/Getty Images
 

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James Barber is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Alabama, for the murder of Dorothy Epps in 2001. It's the first execution since Governor Kay Ivey paused capital punishment in the state and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of death penalty protocols after the state failed to execute two inmates last year.

Host Scott Detrow speaks with The Atlantic's Elizabeth Bruenig. She reported extensively on Alabama's troubles with lethal injection last year. She says the state's process is very opaque, and almost nothing of the review was made public.

Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert at Fordham Law School, says lethal injection problems are an issue all around the country.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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