Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sought a pause in executions and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of the state's capital punishment system Monday after an unprecedented third failed lethal injection.
Alan Eugene Miller is scheduled for execution in Alabama on Sep. 22. He has asked for nitrogen hypoxia instead of lethal injection due to a fear of needles, but claims officers lost his request.
In a federal trial earlier this year, attorneys for 28 death row inmates argued the method could violate the amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.
A poor reader, Matthew Reeves is intellectually disabled and wasn't capable of making a decision on the method of execution without assistance, his lawyers argued.
Lisa Montgomery was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, and would be the U.S. government's first execution of a female inmate in more than 67 years.
Wesley Purkey was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, the second federal execution this week after a 17-year hiatus. The high court's 5-4 decision allowed the execution to proceed.
