Inmates ask high court to review Arkansas execution ruling

Executions have been set for (top row, from left) Kenneth Williams, Jack Jones Jr., Marcel Williams, Bruce Earl Ward, and (bottom row, from left) Don Davis, Stacey Johnson, Jason McGehee and Ledell Lee.
Executions have been set for (top row, from left) Kenneth Williams, Jack Jones Jr., Marcel Williams, Bruce Earl Ward, and (bottom row, from left) Don Davis, Stacey Johnson, Jason McGehee and Ledell Lee.

A group of nine Arkansas death row inmates filed a formal challenge of the state's execution law with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, just hours before the deadline to mount their appeal.

The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the 2015 execution law in June but postponed the scheduled executions of eight of the inmates so that they could take their case to the U.S. high court. The 90-day deadline to file an appeal ended Wednesday.

The inmates' attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, asked for a 30-day extension to file the case at the end of the September, but U.S. Justice Samuel Alito denied the request.

The hold on the inmates' executions remains in place as long as the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the case, which it does not have to decide until next year, after one of the state's three execution drugs expires.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events