St. Louis Public Radio reports, "Citing St. Louis Public Radio Report, Inmate Asks Court To Halt His Execution," by Chris McDaniel. It's via KBIA-FM.
Lawyers representing inmate Earl Ringo are asking a federal judge to halt his upcoming execution, citing new information uncovered in a St. Louis Public Radio investigation.
Earlier this week, we reported that Missouri has been using Midazolam in its execution process. Midazolam, a sedative, is a controversial execution drug that has been used in three botched executions in the United States this year.
Missouri officials said previously that they would not use the drug.
"Critical state actors have perjured themselves, including the heads of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Adult Institutions," Ringo's lawyers wrote. "Lawyers for [the state] have submitted highly misleading pleadings and false claims in various courts about Missouri’s administration of executions."
After our report aired, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections issued a statement to St. Louis Public Radio, writing that the officials did not commit perjury.
The Columbia Missourian reports, "Man scheduled for execution in Columbia killings requests stay," by Jasmine Ye Han and McKenzie Pendergras.
A Missouri man sentenced to death filed a request Thursday that asserted race played a role in his sentencing and asked the governor's office to stay his execution for a review of the case.
Attorneys for Earl Ringo Jr. requested that Gov. Jay Nixon appoint a board of inquiry to examine if there was a racial factor involved in Ringo's trial and death sentence. The board would review Ringo's case and offer recommendations to the governor regarding a clemency decision.
Ringo received his death sentence in 1998 after being convicted in connection with a robbery at a Ruby Tuesday in Columbia that resulted in the death of two employees. The request states that race played a role in his sentencing because Ringo, who is black, was charged by a white prosecutor, tried by a white judge and sentenced by a white jury.
A study led by criminologist Raymond Paternoster could further the evidence that race was a factor, according to the release. The study, which is ongoing at the St. Louis University School of Law, provides preliminary evidence that there are many cases like Ringo's that involve a capitally charged black person and one or more white victims, the request stated.
Ringo, who is scheduled to be executed Sept. 10, asks for a stay of execution until the completion of the study.
"Ringo requests delay of execution while role of race in his case is studied," is by Mike Lear of MissouriNet.
Earl Ringo, Junior, is a 40-year-old African-American who was sentenced to death in 1998 for his part in the robbery of the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Columbia that left two people dead. His attorney says Ringo was charged with the murder of two white victims by a white prosecutor, tried by a white judge, and sentenced to death by an all white jury.
His attorney asks Governor Jay Nixon to stay Ringo’s execution and appoint an independent board of inquiry to study the role race played in the case.
Ringo’s attorney also argues that the Supreme Court has never properly compared his case to others with similar circumstances to see if his sentence was proportional to judgments handed down in those.
The Memorandum filed in Earl Ringo's case is available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Questionable drug given to condemned; Versed not part of executions, Missouri says, is AP coverage, via the Columbia Tribune.
As Missouri prepares for another execution next week, a new report suggests that the Department of Corrections quietly and repeatedly used a drug that has raised concerns in botched executions in other states.
Missouri’s written one-drug execution protocol allows only for use of pentobarbital. The state has said pentobarbital was the sole drug used in the deaths of nine condemned men since November.
St. Louis Public Radio reported yesterday that the sedative midazolam also was part of the process in all nine executions, despite Department of Corrections director George Lombardi’s comments under oath in January that the state “will not use” midazolam.
The report cites chemical log forms obtained through an Open Meetings and Records Law request showing that “Versed” was administered to each inmate. Versed is another name for midazolam.
Corrections Department spokesman David Owen said Missouri’s protocol allows for use of sedatives in advance of the execution, and they are not part of the actual execution. He declined to name the sedative used but confirmed that only pentobarbital is used for lethal injection.
Earlier coverage from Missouri begins at the link.
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