Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the state's first planned execution after Gov. Kay Ivey revealed the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) completed its top-to-bottom review of its execution protocol.
On Friday, Ivey announced the completion of a review of ADOC's execution protocol after a series of botched lethal injections in 2022. Ivey sent a letter to Marshall on Friday, saying the review had concluded, and Marshall was free to petition for an execution whenever he deems appropriate.
"I am pleased that Governor Ivey and the Department of Corrections have completed their review of their execution processes and feel confident that the travesty of justice that occurred in November of last year will not be repeated," Marshall said. "As I have made clear, I and my office have remained fully committed to and capable of carrying out capital punishment in Alabama."
Marshall said his office had already submitted a name to the Supreme Court to set a date, with more to follow.
"Accordingly, my office immediately filed a motion today with the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for death-row inmate James Barber, and we will be seeking death warrants for other murderers in short order," Marshall continued.
Barber, 63, was convicted in 2003 for the murder of an elderly woman during the course of a robbery a year prior. According to court documents, Barber confessed to the killing.
"In Alabama, we recognize that there are crimes so heinous, atrocious and cruel, so exceptionally deprave, that the only just punishment is death," Marshall concluded. "Those on death row—as well as their victims—can be certain that I and my office will always do our part to ensure that they receive that just punishment."
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