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| Georgia won't halt lethal injections |
| By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
| Published: 06/13/2007 |
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ATLANTA, GA - Georgia's first execution by lethal injection in almost two years is set to take place this month, even as other states have halted the procedure over questions about its legality. The state Department of Corrections has scheduled the execution of triple murderer John Washington Hightower for June 26 at the state prison in Jackson. Since the electric chair was ruled unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2001, Georgia has put 16 men to death by lethal injection. Georgia has not executed a condemned inmate since Robert Dale Conklin on July 12, 2005. Nine states, concerned about challenges to lethal injection as an unlawful "cruel and unusual punishment" have temporarily suspended executions, according to Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington. Courts in California and Missouri have ruled that the lethal injection procedure was unconstitutional, forcing both states to put a hold on executions while they re-examine their protocols. "I think that has particularly contributed to fewer executions this year," Dieter said of the legal concerns. "The numbers were already down some, but this has dropped them even further." Concerns over potential innocence, given the recent number of highly publicized DNA exonerations, have also contributed to a decline in executions and death sentences.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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