Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has sent letters to Gov. Asa Hutchinson asking him to resume setting execution dates for people on Death Row.
Rutledge asked that dates be set for: Bruce Earl Ward, Don William Davis, Jack Jones, Jason McGehee, Kenneth Williams, Marcel Williams, Stacey Johnson and Terrick Nooner.
It was reported recently that Arkansas had acquired enoug hof a drug recently cleared by the U.S. Supreme Court to execute people. Executions have been stymied across the country by drug issues.
There have been no executions in Arkansas since 2005. Jeff Rosenzweig, who represents many Death Row inmates, has pending legal action seeking to ensure that Arkansas gets drugs from a legitimate supplier. He also contends a 2013 agreement requires that the source of the drug be known. A 2015 law allows the state to buy drugs secretly.
The new drug supply expires in June, according to a recent AP report by Claudia Lauer. She wrote that Arkansas spent $24,000 to acquire the three drugs used in the lethal injection process.