ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - The Latest on the execution of Alabama inmate Robert Melson (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
Alabama has put to death a man convicted for the 1994 shooting deaths of three fast food restaurant employees.
Officials say 46-year-old Robert Melson was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. CDT Thursday following a lethal injection at a southwest Alabama prison.
Melson was convicted of killing three people during a robbery of a Popeye’s restaurant in Gadsden, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham. State prosecutors said Melson opened fire on four employees after ordering them into the restaurant’s freezer. The surviving employee crawled out of the freezer and called for help.
Melson’s attorneys had filed a flurry of last-minute appeals seeking to stay the execution. They argued there were unsettled questions about the humaneness of Alabama’s lethal injection process.
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9:15 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the execution of an Alabama inmate to proceed.
Justices on Thursday evening denied the stay request by46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson, who was convicted of killing three people during the 1994 robbery of a Popeye’s fast food restaurant in Gadsden, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham.
The court had temporarily delayed the execution, which was set to begin at 6 p.m. CDT, to consider his claim that the state planned to use a drug that would not reliably render him unconscious at the start of the procedure.
Melson’s attorneys cited the December execution in which an Alabama man coughed and heaved for 13 minutes.
Attorneys for the state argued that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld midazolam’s use and allowed other executions to proceed.
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5:55 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily halted the death of an Alabama inmate as it reviews his request to block his execution over questions regarding a sedative’s effectiveness.
Justices issued the temporary stay Thursday evening about 15 minutes before 46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.
Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant.
Melson’s attorneys argued that Alabama plans to use an ineffective sedative that will not render Melson unconscious before other drugs stop his lungs and heart. They cited the December execution in which an Alabama man coughed and heaved for 13 minutes.
His attorneys argued the execution showed “the horrific results of using midazolam in a way it was never intended - as an anesthetic.”
The Alabama attorney general’s office had asked for the execution to proceed arguing the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld midazolam’s use and allowed other executions to proceed using it. Alabama has executed three inmates using midazolam.
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5:30 p.m.
Lawyers for a condemned Alabama inmate have filed a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Alabama Supreme court both refused to halt the execution of 46-year-old Robert Melson on Thursday. He is schedule to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CDT.
Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant.
Melson’s attorneys again cited the December execution in which an Alabama coughed and heaved for 13 minutes.
His attorneys argued the execution showed “the horrific results of using midazolam in a way it was never intended.”
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5:10 p.m.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an Alabama inmate’s request to halt his execution.
The appellate court issued the ruling Thursday afternoon about an hour before 46-year-old Robert Melson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection.
Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant. His attorneys made a flurry of last-minute appeals seeking to stop the execution.
A panel of three judges on the 11th Circuit denied one stay request Thursday. The second request, also denied Thursday, was filed in a related case before the 11th Circuit in which other Alabama inmates are challenging the humaneness of the state’s lethal injection procedure.
Melson’ lawyers wrote that he is scheduled for execution using a protocol “that has never been determined to be constitutional.” The state has urged the 11th Circuit to let the execution proceed.
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2:55 p.m.
Lawyers for an Alabama death row inmate are making another last-minute bid to halt his execution.
Attorneys for 46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson on Thursday filed another request with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal.
The filing came just a few hours before Melson is scheduled to die by lethal injection at a south Alabama prison. Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant.
A panel of three judges on the 11th Circuit denied one stay request Thursday. The subsequent request from Melson was filed in a related case before the 11th Circuit in which other Alabama inmates are challenging the humaneness of the state’s lethal injection procedure.
The state has urged the 11th Circuit to let the execution proceed.
Melson’ lawyers wrote that he is scheduled for execution using a protocol “that has never been determined to be constitutional.”
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1:30 p.m.
The Alabama Supreme Court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have both refused to stop the execution of an Alabama inmate convicted of killing three people during the 1994 robbery of fast food restaurant.
Justices on Thursday denied a stay of execution for 46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson who is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CDT.
He was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a Popeye’s in Gadsden, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham.
Melson’s attorneys argued about the effectiveness of a sedative the state plans to use at the start of the execution. They claim Midazolam does not reliably render an inmate unconscious before other drugs stop the lungs and heart.
The Alabama attorney general’s office had asked for the execution to proceed arguing the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Midazolam’s use and allowed other executions to proceed using it.
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3:00 a.m.
Alabama is preparing to execute an inmate for the shooting deaths of three fast food restaurant workers during a 1994 robbery.
Forty-six-year-old Robert Bryant Melson is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening.
State prosecutors say Melson robbed a Popeye’s restaurant in Gadsden, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham. They say Melson ordered the employees into the restaurant’s freezer and opened fire, killing three and wounding another.
Melson’s attorneys asked appellate courts to halt the execution in order to review the constitutionality of Alabama’s lethal injection protocol. Melson and other inmates are appealing a judge’s dismissal of lawsuits that argues Alabama plans to use the sedative midazolam that has been linked to what they say were problematic executions.
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