The Daily Mail reports on death row scandals in the US, almost one year after Joe Nathan James endured the longest execution in American history, in Alabama. His family have filed a lawsuit suing Alabama officials for the ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ inflicted on Joe Nathan James.
Meanwhile in Texas six death row inmates are suing the state over the decision to extend the use-by-date of lethal injection drugs, which some think may cause more painful deaths during executions.
Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve US, said: ‘After enduring the unimaginable pain of a family member being subjected to the longest lethal injection in US history, the James family have still not received any basic answers or accountability.’
She added the lawsuit from the family of Joe Nathan James is ‘vital’, because it is ‘challenging Alabama’s blatant violations of the US Constitution at a time when the state has announced plans to send more people to the execution chamber.’
Foa claimed the state is ‘refusing to come clean about what happened during this and other catastrophically botched attempted executions. Joe James’ execution will go down in history as an illustration of the human consequences of the broken method of lethal injection. Alabama cannot continue to use the facade of medicine to pretend that lethal injection is in any way humane.’
