Key takeaways:
- James Barber, 64, was executed in Alabama on Thursday evening for the 2001 beating death of Dorothy Epps.
- He was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury vote of 11-1, and his request to block his execution was rejected by a federal appeals court panel.
- Barber’s execution marks the first in the state since February, when a series of failed lethal injection attempts prompted a pause in capital punishment.
On Thursday evening, Alabama executed James Barber, 64, for the 2001 beating death of Dorothy Epps. This was the first execution in the state since a pause on capital punishment was lifted in February.
Barber was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2001 murder of 75-year-old Epps. A jury voted 11-1 to recommend a death sentence, which a judge imposed.
Barber had requested to block his execution over fears that he could be subject to “substantial harm,” but a federal appeals court panel rejected his request in a 2-1 ruling. The majority wrote that the lower court did not err in its finding that the Alabama Department of Corrections had amended its execution procedures.
Barber was pronounced dead at 1:56 a.m. after receiving a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison. His execution marks the first in the state since February, when a series of failed lethal injection attempts prompted a pause in capital punishment.
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