Arkansas faces several legal battles over its plan to execute seven convicted murders in the span of 11 days, apparently to accommodate the state’s expiring supply of a lethal injection sedative.
A federal judge issued stays for each of the inmates on Saturday, but the inmates could still face death beginning as soon as Monday night. In addition to the state’s rushed schedule, there are other concerns, according to the Fair Punishment Project.
In a report released by the group, each one of the convicted Arkansas murders has problems — including intellectual disabilities, mental illness and childhood trauma — that might preclude them from the death penalty. Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with Jessica Brand, the Fair Punishment Project’s legal director, about her group’s findings.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.