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The Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's method of capitol punishment Wednesday. Now Arkansas must determine how the ruling applies to inmates in the Natural State.
Arkansas postponed the scheduled executions of three men on death row until the Supreme Court issued a decision on the Kentucky case.
It will now be up to the Attorney General, Department of Correction and Governor to decide what to do with death row inmates in Arkansas.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a 7 to 2 decision upholding the state of Kentucky's method of lethal injection, which, like Arkansas', uses three drugs-an anesthetic, a paralyzer and a drug which stops the heart.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Justin Allen says the Arkansas Attorney General's office is in the process of reading the 97 page decision to see how it will effect inmates in Arkansas.
(Justin Allen, Chief Deputy AR Attorney General) "While I expect that lethal injection lawsuits in Arkansas will proceed, it's going to be much more difficult for those inmates to prevail."
The state postponed the execution of three Arkansas inmates, Terrick Nooner, Don Davis and Jack Harold Jones Jr. when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case from Kentucky.
Bob Cells of the Arkansas Death Penalty Moratorium Campaign Committee says this is a good opportunity to for the state to re-think it's stance on the death penalty.
( Bob Sells, AR Death Penalty Moratorium Campaign) "Are we killing people that shouldn't be killed? Are we being ethnically and socioeconomically fair in the way we use the death penalty."
But the family of Mary Phillips, the woman whom Jack Harold Jones Jr. was convicted of raping and murdering, told Channel 7, "when a human takes another human's life and is sentenced to death in America, we have to stand by our judgements and carry it out. Hopefully with this ruling there will be action taken for all those who are on death row."
If the Attorney General decides Arkansas executions are in compliance with the Supreme Court's ruling, it is up to the Governor to set execution dates.
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