Alabama Set To Resume Executions. But Will They Stop Botching Them?

After calling for a moratorium on executions in the state, Alabama’s governor has announced that executions will resume, following the completion of an investigation into the state’s execution procedures. However, critics have raised concerns with the quality of the investigation, citing a lack of transparency—and some troubling legal developments—that make it likely that Alabama will soon return to botching executions.

Last Friday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) announced that the state would resume executions, following the results of an investigation into the state’s execution practices. The investigation was ordered in November, following a series of high-profile botched executions in the state. While Ivey praised the investigation, stating on February 24 that it would allow the state to “resume our duty of carrying out lawful death sentences,” critics took swift concern with the investigation—citing its lack of transparency.

“Far too many Alabama families have waited far too long—often for decades—to obtain justice for the loss of a loved one and to obtain closure for themselves,” wrote Gov. Ivey on Friday. “This brief pause on executions was necessary to make sure we can successfully deliver that justice and that closure.”

The investigation was carried out by officials in the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), rather than an independent agency. ADOC didn’t make the full results of its investigation public, instead simply releasing a two-page letter to the governor which loosely described the changes the agency plans to undertake.

In the letter, John Q. Hamm, the Department’s commissioner, makes a vague commitment to increase medical staff, writing that ADOC will “add to its pool of available medical personnel for executions,” though the letter doesn’t describe what qualifications new medical personnel will be required to h