The execution of death row inmate Kenneth Williams is only hours away, scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight. Attorneys for Williams have started to court action.
The filing in Pulaski County Circuit Court asserts medical conditions, including: sickle cell, lupus, and organic brain damage could cause complications and lead to severe pain and suffering.
Attorneys also argued the execution of Marcel Williams on Monday night did not go as planned. Attorneys say Williams grimaced, arched his back, moved his eyes, and coughed after a consciousness check – and only stopped moving when a paralytic was administered. The state says the execution was flawless.
Williams this morning got a first time ever visit with his granddaughter as well as his daughter who had not visited him in 18 years. The trip from Washington D.C. was funded by the family of one of the men that Williams killed when trying to escape Cummins Prison after originally being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a student at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Associate Press reports on another court filing on behalf of Williams:
Lawyers filed paperwork Thursday saying they want the Arkansas Supreme Court to review a decision rejecting a hearing on whether Kenneth Williams is intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution. Previously, they asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a similar question.
If Williams is put to death, it would be the fourth execution for Arkansas since April 20. The state initially planned to execute eight men in 11 days because a key execution drug expires at the end of the month.
