That's the title of the AP report from Little Rock, via KATV-TV.
Arkansas has a new lethal injection law.Gov. Mike Beebe's office said Wednesday that he signed legislation that rewrites the state's lethal injection law, despite his misgivings about the death penalty.
The new law spells out in greater detail the procedures the state must follow in carrying out executions. It says the state must use a lethal dose of a barbiturate but leaves it up to the Department of Correction to determine which one.
The legislation came up after the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the state's 2009 lethal injection law last year.
Earlier coverage on the Arkansas lethal injection legislation begins at the link.
Also from KATV-TV, reporter Janelle Lilley posts, "Capital Punishment: First, let's talk ethics..."
For a session that was supposed to be dominated by Medicaid, the first three weeks at the capitol have produced more big ticket stories than anyone expected. First, there were the gun bills and resolution followed closely by hotly debated abortion bills, so I suppose, it's only fitting that capital punishment make an appearance as well.For those who don't know, Arkansas law allows for capital punishment in certain cases but, as of right now, the state cannot enforce it. So, the state can sentence folks to death just not put them to death. That's because the state supreme court struck down the law which gave the Department of Corrections the ability to determine by what means a person is executed. The supreme court determined that responsibility could only legally be in the hands of the legislature.
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