Brian Lyman

Montgomery Advertiser

The state said in filings with the Alabama Supreme Court Thursday that it has established a new death penalty protocol, using a new sequence of drugs.

Executions were put on hold earlier this year after the state acknowledged it had run out of pentobarbitol, a sedative used in the execution process. In nine separate filings seeking to set execution dates, the Attorney General's Office said the Alabama Department of Corrections adopted a new protocol for executions on Wednesday, modeled on Florida's procedures.

Under the new protocol, the condemned would first be administered 500 milligrams of midazolam hydrochloride, a sedative; 600 milligrams of rocuronium bromide, a paralyzing drug and, finally, 240 "milliequivalents" of potassium chloride, to stop the heart.

It is not clear where the supplies of the drugs came from, or how much the state has on hand. Kristi Gates, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, directed questions to the Attorney General's Office. The AG's Office Friday said it had no comment on the filings. Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley, said in a statement Friday that the governor supported the new procedure.

"The Department of Corrections is ready to carry out execution orders once set by the Alabama Supreme Court," the statement said. "The Governor is confident the protocol does not violate the 8th Amendment."



In its filing, the attorney general's office said that both the Florida Supreme Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld Florida's use of the drug protocol.

"In conclusion, this Court should follow the well-reasoned holdings of the Florida Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and set an execution date for Arthur," the filing said.

Florida has executed seven men under the protocol this year, with no reported complications. However, midazolam hydrochloride, often used as an anesthetic, has been present during botched executions in other parts of the country, though its role in the complications that arose is not clear. In January, the drug was used in the execution of Dennis McGuire, an Ohio man who raped and murdered a pregnant woman in 1989. The execution took 26 minutes, and a reporter who witnessed the execution said McGuire appeared to be gasping and choking throughout it.

In April, Oklahoma's execution of Clayton Lockett, who beat and murdered a 19-year-old in 1999 made headlines after Lockett reportedly appeared to wake up after being declared unconscious and after the second and third drugs had been administered. The execution took 43 minutes. Midazolam was used in that execution, though Oklahoma officials say an improper IV hook-up was to blame. Oklahoma used 100 milligram of midazolam in the execution, or about a fifth of the amount Alabama plans to employ.

In July, Arizona officials administered a the drug protocol which included midazolam to convicted murderer Joseph Wood 15 times. The execution took two hours, and a reporter who witnessed the execution said Wood gasped at least 640 times before being pronounced dead.

"The common denominator in all three of those things this year was midazolam," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment. "They didn't all use the same second and third drugs."

For years, Alabama used sodium thiapentol as the sedative in its execution protocol. Hospira, the company that manufactured the drug, stopped making the drug in the United States in 2011. Alabama adopted pentobarbitol in its place; the state said earlier this year it had run out of the drug.

Thomas Arthur, convicted in 1982 in a murder-for-hire scheme, sued in federal court to stop his execution, arguing the pentobarbitol protocol would take too long to render him unconscious before the fatal drugs were administered. In its filings with the Alabama Supreme Court, the attorney general's office said that challenge should not stop justices from setting an execution date for Arthur, saying the lawsuit "has no relation to the State's lawful criminal judgment."

Suhana Han, an attorney representing Arthur, said in a statement Friday she would oppose the state's motion.

"It is telling that the State seeks to execute Mr. Arthur -- with the same drug used in other botched executions -- before the court has determined whether such a protocol is constitutional," the statement said.



The Advertiser, The Anniston Star and the Associated Press last spring filed separate Freedom of Information Act requests with the Department of Corrections for information on drugs and death penalty procedures. DOC turned down the requests, citing the ongoing Arthur litigation.