Legal challenges to new lethal injection procedures have delayed executions in Florida and Missouri this week. Similar challenges halted executions in Georgia in July. On November 18, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a hearing on the state’s new execution protocol and stayed the execution of Askari Muhammad, who had been scheduled for execution on December 3. The hearing will examine “the efficacy of midazolam hydrochloride as an anesthetic in the amount prescribed by Florida’s protocol.” Florida is the first state to use midazolam in executions, having carried out two executions using this drug in combination with 2 other drugs. In Missouri, a federal judge stayed the execution of Joseph Franklin on November 19, calling the state’s execution protocol, “a frustratingly moving target.” She said that the Department of Corrections “has not provided any information about the certification, inspection history, infraction history, or other aspects of the compounding pharmacy or of the person compounding the drug.” The stay was lifted hours later by a higher court, and Franklin was executed on November 20, though other challenges to the execution process continue. Earlier this year, a Georgia Superior Court judge stayed the execution of Warren Hill, questioning the constitutionality of the law that classified information on execution drugs as “confidential state secrets.”

(“Court lifts stay of execution of serial killer in Mo.,” Associated Press, November 20, 2013; B. Cotterell, “Florida death row inmate wins stay, hearing on new execution drug,” Reuters, November 18, 2013). See Lethal injection.

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