Alabama is pausing executions and reviewing the system due to another failed lethal injection.
The Associated Press reported that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey made a move to pause executions. Ivey also ordered a full examination of the execution process and requested that no additional execution dates for inmates be set until after the review process is completed.
Per the Deseret News, the state of Alabama called off an execution last week because officials were unable to find a vein. The inmate scheduled to be executed was convicted in a case of murder-for-hire, in which Elizabeth Sennett’s husband hired the inmate and another person to kill her for $1,000 each.
The Washington Post reported that Alan Eugene Miller’s execution in September was delayed for similar reasons. According to CNN, Miller was convicted for the murders of his then contemporary and former coworkers, Lee Michael Holbrooks, Christopher S. Yancy and Terry Lee Jarvis.
Earlier this year, Joe Nathan James, convicted of murdering Faith Hall, was executed. Elizabeth Bruenig reported for The Atlantic that the execution took around three hours, which has instigated questions around his death.
Which states have the death penalty?
According to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, 27 states have the death penalty and 23 do not.
States with the death penalty: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Alabama, California, Oregon and Pennsylvania currently have a moratorium or temporary prohibition on executions.
States without the death penalty: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.