Arkansas executed convicted murderers, Jack H. Jones Jr. and Marcel Williams on Monday night. It was the first time in 17 years that a state carried out two executions in one day.
The first to be executed was Jones, who died at 7:20 p.m. local time. A few hours later, it was William’s turn and at 10:33 p.m., he too was pronounced dead. The courts have rejected the appeals of both death row inmates. Jones was convicted of the rape and murder of Mary Philips in 1995. Meanwhile, Williams was convicted for the death of Stacy Erickson in 1994. Both men admitted their guilt.
Did Jones suffer during the execution?
There were reports that Jones might have gasped for air during the execution, meaning he might still be conscious at that time. In a court filing submitted by William’s lawyers, it indicated that infirmary workers had trouble inserting a central line in Jones’ neck for 45 minutes and ultimately decided to insert it elsewhere on Jones’ body.
In the last minute effort, William’s lawyers appealed that the execution would be unconstitutionally cruel due to Jones’ complications. However, the courts still did not approve the appeal, and Judge Kristine Baker allowed the execution to proceed as planned.
The first execution in 12 years
Ledell Lee was convicted of the rape and murder of Debra Reese, who was clubbed to death after being sexually assaulted in 1993.
On Thursday, Arkansas executed convicted murderer Lee, the first US state to carry out the death sentence in 12 years. The state has scheduled more executions in the following days before the expiration of the drugs used for the capital punishment. The midazolam drug is set to expire at the end of April, and states are having trouble acquiring new supplies of the said drug as drug companies do not approve of their products being used for executions.
Three drugs are being used for the capital punishment; Midazolam is a sedative that renders a person unconscious; however, critics say that it does not always work. The next drug is a paralytic that stops the breathing while the last drug stops the heart. Texas was the last state to carry out multiple executions in one day, which was August 2000.
This was the time when the capital punishment was more frequent in the United States.
Another death row inmate, Kenneth Williams, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. What do you think of the executions of Jack H. Jones Jr. and Marcel Williams? Do you believe it was unconstitutionally cruel for them to die? Write and share your comments below and don’t forget to like and share this article.
