In Controversial Move, Officials Execute Four Death Row Inmates In Eight Days

Arkansas officials decided to execute as many convicts as possible while they still could.

It seems that Arkansas executed four convicts in eight days in late April, completing a tight schedule of executions a sedative used in lethal injections expired on April 30th.

Inmate Kenneth Williams was originally sentenced to life in prison for the killing of teenage girl Dominique Hurd in 1998. Then he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death when he escaped from prison in 1999 and killed a man named Cecil Boren.

Note that Boren's daughter, Jodie Efird, witnessed the execution. She explained that Williams' death is not full closure for her family, but it certainly helps.

"Every time we drive down this road, he's not here anymore," Efird said about Williams.

It should be noted Williams expressed remorse for his crimes in his final words.

"I was more than wrong. The crime I perpetrated against you all was senseless," Williams is quoted as saying.

Williams died by lethal injection at 11:05 pm central time Thursday night. He was one of eight inmates scheduled for execution prior to Arkansas' supply of sedatives for its lethal injections expiring April 30th.

Keep in mind that a resupply of the lethal drugs is not certain as Arkansas and other states are trying to deal with suppliers who don’t want their products used in executions. Midazolam, the drug used in this case, is a controversial replacement for other compounds that Arkansas and other states simply can’t buy any longer.

Note that four of the eight inmates originally scheduled for death were actually killed, and the courts postponed the other four executions. The other four inmates will not be executed in the immediate future, according to a spokesperson for Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Gov. Hutchinson had already temporarily stopped Williams' execution so the US Supreme Court could consider motions for stays of execution. The Supreme Court denied all motions by Williams’ attorneys and the execution went ahead.

Source: CNN
Photo: 5 News Online