On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey set the execution date and time for Casey McWhorter, an incarcerated individual on death row.
Ivey set a 30 hour time frame for the execution to be carried out beginning on Thursday Nov.16 at 12 a.m. to Friday Nov. 17 at 6:00 p.m. A lethal injection can be used during that 30 hour period to execute McWhorter.
McWhorter was given the death sentence 30 years ago after being convicted for the murder of Edward Lee Williams.
In August, Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office filed a request with the Alabama Supreme Court to authorize Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jon Hamm to carry out the execution.
This is the second execution that has been set in 2023 following a moratorium on the practice from Nov. 2022 to Feb. 2023. The moratorium was put in place due to multiple botched executions that occurred last year.
In July, James Barber was the first to be put to death following the reintroduction of executions. In Barber’s case he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court but the court denied his request as he argued lethal injection could result in cruel and unusual punishment.
In Sept. Al.com, reported that Alabama is currently attempting to set a date for the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen hypoxia. This method of execution has not been used by other states and Smith and his attorney are appealing this attempt so he is not the first “test subject” for this new execution method. Alabama attempted to execute Smith in Nov. 2022 as well but stopped after struggling to find a vein.
