Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is looking to pause seeking any execution dates|Defense Visual Information Distributed Service|Public Domain Mark 1.0
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey ordered a temporary halt on lethal injection executions throughout the state, requesting a complete review of the process.
The pause comes after the failed execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith as prison officials were unable to find the prisoner’s veins to insert the lethal injection.
Smith’s failed execution marks the second time in the state where officials couldn’t complete the procedure in the last two months, and the third since 2018.
In a statement, Governor Ivey said, “For the sake of the victims and their families, we’ve got to get this right.”
She also requested Attorney General Steve Marshall to pause seeking any sort of execution dates until the review of Alabama’s capital punishment system by the Department of Corrections is complete.