Critics: Alabama execution helps case against sedative
ATMORE, Ala. — An Alabama execution in which a prisoner heaved his chest, coughed and appeared to move offers more evidence that a drug used to sedate inmates before they are put to death should not be used in lethal injections, critics of the drug said Friday.
Alabama prison officials insisted there was no reason to believe Robert Bert Smith Jr. suffered after receiving the first of three drugs.
The debate focuses on midazolam, a drug that has been used in executions that were called into question in several other states. It has been the subject of multiple legal challenges.
Smith was given the drug late Thursday to put him to sleep. His movements occurred moments later during tests to determine an inmate’s level of consciousness before administering two more drugs to stop the heart and lungs.