Virginia: Federal judge declines to delay execution over drug controversy

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4msNTBH5ch86442X1hdULbc8riaS_Wvputth-3rruWx3FCMQQ9-es0sF6Q2bK6pqrIfrrZh3M9t7c3jzJLNIsQOZCMQ7YbMrWfIQDjyY0-aFd7tbOl1OOtPrN2-QxfpDpr9N9YB_Wv8/s1600/Death+Penalty+News.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4msNTBH5ch86442X1hdULbc8riaS_Wvputth-3rruWx3FCMQQ9-es0sF6Q2bK6pqrIfrrZh3M9t7c3jzJLNIsQOZCMQ7YbMrWfIQDjyY0-aFd7tbOl1OOtPrN2-QxfpDpr9N9YB_Wv8/s400/Death+Penalty+News.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday declined to delay the execution of convicted killer Ricky Gray, which is scheduled to take place January 18. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gray's attorneys argued in December that the drugs to be used during the execution were untested and potentially torturous. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Judge Henry Hudson concluded that "any discomfort experienced by Gray in the execution process is unlikely to cause serious pain or suffering." He also concluded that the possibility of pain was outweighed by the harm done if the execution was delayed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gray's attorney, Lisa Fried, stated that "it is unconstitutional ... to carry out an execution that risk chemically torturing a prisoner to death." No other state has used the mixture of drugs to be used at Gray's execution. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His attorneys plan to appeal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Capital punishment remains a controversial issue in the US and worldwide. Last Wednesday the Florida Supreme Court issued a 1-paragraph order informing judges and prosecutors that the state's death penalty procedure is unconstitutional, marking the 2nd such order in 3 months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In October the US Supreme Court vacated the death sentence of an Oklahoma man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her 2 children in a case where the trial judge permitted family members to recommend the sentence to the jury. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In May a Miami judge ruled that Florida's revamped death penalty law is unconstitutional because it does not require a unanimous agreement among jurors to approve executions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In April Virginia's General Assembly voted to keep secret the identities of suppliers of lethal injection drugs. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2002 the Supreme Court held in Atkins v. Virginia that the Eighth Amendment's proscription on cruel and unusual punishment makes the execution of individuals with intellectual disability unconstitutional, which was considered in the Moore v. Texas case. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In November, Oklahoma became the 1st state to have the death penalty explicitly added to their state constitution as legal. According to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), only 5 out of 31 states that have the death penalty held executions in 2016.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: jurist.org, January 12, 2017</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JBVXEBZLP3WKW" target="_blank">DONATE!</a></b></div><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/fr_FR/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div></form><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>

Virginia: Federal judge declines to delay execution over drug controversy

A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday declined to delay the execution of convicted killer Ricky ...

Read more »

Virginia: Decision on delaying Ricky Gray's Jan. 18 execution to come no later than next week

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkkpFCGqjmIPN4lj4W02kAS1qMbe05Z8CooL7Z1mVBrEpBR78cXBUsHkXQ7aDpHQPvJ893H4uep8vgv3XP_9lIs6Z8pIRiEm0B33Io2r8Nq4PE6f0SEIh_k_HGt0HT6LxcUYVL4M2Yi0/s1600/Midazolam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Midazolam" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkkpFCGqjmIPN4lj4W02kAS1qMbe05Z8CooL7Z1mVBrEpBR78cXBUsHkXQ7aDpHQPvJ893H4uep8vgv3XP_9lIs6Z8pIRiEm0B33Io2r8Nq4PE6f0SEIh_k_HGt0HT6LxcUYVL4M2Yi0/s400/Midazolam.jpg" title="Midazolam" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A federal judge on Tuesday said he will decide within a week whether to delay Ricky Javon Gray's scheduled Jan. 18 execution over concerns about drugs the state intends to use if Gray dies by injection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midazolam" target="_blank">Midazolam</a>, a sedative, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, are the 1st and 3rd drugs used in Virginia's 3-drug procedure. The drugs were made by a compounding pharmacy and not by pharmaceutical manufacturers, which no longer provide drugs to states for executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The state strongly disputes that the compounded drugs - tested by a state laboratory and made by a licensed Virginia pharmacy and pharmacist - are anything less than suitable for use in an execution. The alleged problems are "wholly speculative," said Margaret Hoehl O'Shea with the state Attorney General's Office.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under state law, Gray must choose execution by injection or electrocution by 15 days prior to the execution date. If he refuses to select a method, state law makes lethal injection the default method.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Virginia Department of Corrections did not immediately respond Tuesday when asked if Gray had made a choice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gray's lawyers also contend death in the state's electric chair is cruel and unusual punishment. And they claim the use of compounded drugs have contributed to botched executions elsewhere and unnecessarily increase the risk of "chemical torture."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are asking U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson - who heard more than 4 hours of testimony and argument Tuesday - to delay the execution so they can better make their case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An expert testified for Gray on Tuesday that execution by firing squad presents less risk of cruel and unusual punishment than Virginia's proposed injection procedure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gray was sentenced to die for the New Year's Day 2006 slayings of sisters Ruby Harvey, 4, and Stella Harvey, 9. He also killed their parents, Bryan Harvey, 49, and Kathryn Harvey, 39, in their South Richmond home, which was set on fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Less than a week later, Gray and accomplice Ray Dandridge, 39, killed Ashley Baskerville, 21, who had been a lookout when Gray killed the Harveys; Baskerville's mother, Mary Tucker, 47; and stepfather, Percyell Tucker, 55, in their Richmond home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">O'Shea, in her closing argument, told the judge that what Gray did was a nightmare for the community, the Harvey family and the 2 little girls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lisa Fried, 1 of Gray's lawyers, asked the judge not to call off the execution, but to delay it so Gray's concerns can be fully aired.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In response to a question from Hudson, Fried conceded the Constitution does not require a pain-free execution. But she said that while the public has an interest in seeing that sentences are carried out, everyone in the state has an interest in making sure executions are carried out constitutionally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An expert, pharmacist Larry Sasich, testified that the testing performed by the state on the compounded drugs - to identify them and ascertain their potency - was inadequate. They should also been tested for sterility, acidity, and to see if there are any particulates in the solutions, which are injected into the inmate via an intravenous line.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked by Fried how likely it was that the use of a compounded drug would lead to pain and suffering, Sasich said, "It is more likely compared to the use of an FDA-approved product."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, a state expert pharmacist, Daniel Buffington, said the compounding of such drugs by pharmacies is common in the industry. "It's done routinely," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buffington said he was not aware of any botched execution caused by midazolam. He said the problems that he was aware of were caused by the drug's administration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr. Jonathan Groner testified there was less risk of pain in an execution by firing squad, which would be almost instantaneous if done properly, than in one using midazolam. Virginia has not used the firing squad, although Utah has twice since the death penalty was allowed to resume in 1976.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Department of Corrections official testified that no employees were trained to conduct a firing squad, there was no facility in which to do so, and the General Assembly would have to change the law to permit that form of execution. He conceded under cross-examination that prison employees are trained in the use of firearms.</div><br />Source: The Roanoke Times, January 3, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JBVXEBZLP3WKW" target="_blank">DONATE!</a></b></div><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/fr_FR/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div></form><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>

Virginia: Decision on delaying Ricky Gray's Jan. 18 execution to come no later than next week

A federal judge on Tuesday said he will decide within a week whether to delay Ricky Javon Gray's scheduled Jan. 18 execution over concer...

Read more »