Two Arkansas inmates scheduled to be put to death Monday in what could be the nation's first double execution in more than 16 years have asked an appeals court to halt their lethal injections because of poor health.

Two Arkansas inmates scheduled to be put to death Monday in what could be the nation's first double execution in more than 16 years have asked an appeals court to halt their lethal injections because of poor health.

Last-ditch court appeals could block the executions of two Arkansas inmates who are scheduled to be put to death Monday.

Last-ditch court appeals could block the executions of two Arkansas inmates who are scheduled to be put to death Monday.

A federal judge temporarily halted a second execution Monday night in Arkansas after attorneys said in a court filing that the first execution for Jack Jones "appeared to be tortuous and inhumane.".

A federal judge temporarily halted a second execution Monday night in Arkansas after attorneys said in a court filing that the first execution for Jack Jones "appeared to be tortuous and inhumane.".

A federal appeals court has rejected an Arkansas inmate's request for a stay of execution for the rape and killing of a woman more than two decades ago.

A federal appeals court has rejected an Arkansas inmate's request for a stay of execution for the rape and killing of a woman more than two decades ago.

(Arkansas Department of Correction via AP, File). FILE - This combination of undated file photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmates Jack Jones, left, and Marcel Williams.

VARNER, Ark. (AP) - Two inmates received lethal injections on the same gurney Monday night about three hours apart as Arkansas completed the nation's first double execution since 2000, just days after the state ended a nearly 12-year hiatus on administering capital punishment.

While the first inmate, Jack Jones, 52, was executed on schedule, shortly after 7 p.m., attorneys for the second, Marcel Williams, 46, convinced a federal judge minutes later to briefly delay his punishment over concerns about how the earlier one was carried out. They claimed Jones gasped for air, an account the state's attorney general denied, but the judge lifted her stay about an hour later and Williams was pronounced dead at 10:33 p.m.

Initially, Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled four double executions over an 11-day period in April. The eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a compressed period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried out before its supply of one lethal injection drug expires on April 30.

The first three executions were canceled because of court decisions, then inmate Ledell Lee was executed last week.

Jones was sent to death row for the 1995 rape and killing of Mary Phillips. He strangled her with the cord to a coffee pot.

He was also convicted of attempting to kill Phillips' 11-year-old daughter and was convicted in another rape and killing in Florida.

Jones said earlier this month that he was ready for execution. He used a wheelchair and he'd had a leg amputated in prison because of diabetes.

Williams' "morbid obesity makes it likely that either the IV line cannot be placed or that it will be placed in error, thus causing substantial damage (like a collapsed lung)," his attorneys wrote in an earlier court filing asking justices to block the execution.

Both men were served last meals on Monday afternoon, Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said. Jones had fried chicken, potato logs with tartar sauce, beef jerky bites, three candy bars, a chocolate milkshake and fruit punch. Williams had fried chicken, banana pudding, nachos, two sodas and potato logs with ketchup, Graves said.

In recent pleadings before state and federal courts, the inmates said the three drugs Arkansas uses to execute prisoners - midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - could be ineffective because of their poor health.

Williams weighed 400 pounds, was diabetic and had concerns that the execution team might not be able to find a suitable vein to support an intravenous line.

The poor health of both men, their lawyers claimed, could make it difficult for them to respond during a consciousness check following a megadose of midazolam. The state shouldn't risk giving them drugs to stop their lungs and hearts if they aren't unconscious, they have told courts.

The last state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day was Texas, which executed two killers in August 2000. Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014 but scrapped plans for the second one after the execution of Clayton Lockett went awry.

Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.

Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and killing of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

Authorities said Williams abducted and raped two other women in the days before he was arrested in Errickson's death. Williams admitted responsibility to the state Parole Board last month.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't," Williams told the board.

In a letter earlier this month, Jones said he was ready to be killed by the state. The letter, which his attorney read aloud at his clemency hearing, went on to say: "I shall not ask to be forgiven, for I haven't the right."

Including Jones and Williams, nine people have been executed in the United States this year, four in Texas, three in Arkansas and one each in Missouri and Virginia. Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Associated Press writers Jill Bleed contributed to this report from Little Rock.

Follow Andrew DeMillo at www.twitter.com/ademillo and Kelly P. Kissel at www.twitter.com/kisselap

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> This combination of undated file photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmates Jack Jones, left, and Marcel Williams.

WASHINGTON — If no court steps in, Arkansas is poised to become the first state in more than 15 years to execute two people in one night — just four days after the state held its first execution in more than a decade and just days before one of its execution drugs expires.

At 7 p.m. Central Time, Arkansas is due to execute Jack Jones for the 1995 murder and rape of Mary Phillips during a robbery at her accounting office while her 11-year-old daughter watched.

Shortly thereafter, Marcel Williams is scheduled to be executed for abducting, raping, and killing Stacy Rae Erickson, a 22-year-old mother of two, in 1994.

The Arkansas Supreme Court and US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit had denied all pending requests for stays of execution for both Jones and Williams before 5 p.m. Eastern Time — sending both men's lawyers to the US Supreme Court for a final requests to stop the executions. Should the Supreme Court deny their requests, and no other courts take action to stop the executions, both will be allowed to proceed as planned.



Shortly past 7 p.m. Eastern Time, the US Supreme Court denied both of Jones' requests for a stay of execution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only noted dissent.

The last state to attempt two executions in one day was Oklahoma. In 2014, the state had scheduled the executions of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner for the evening of April 29, 2014. However, after Lockett's execution went awry — one of several botched executions using the sedative midazolam in 2014 — Warner's execution was delayed.



On Monday night, as it did last week, Arkansas plans to use the same three drugs in its protocol as Oklahoma had been using that night.

The last state to successfully carry out two executions on one night was Texas — in 2000.

Arkansas, which had scheduled eight executions over a two-week period before its supply of midazolam expires at the end of the month, only conducted one of the four executions it had set for this past week — executing Ledell Lee on April 20.

In addition to Jones and Marcel Williams, the state plans to execute Kenneth Williams on Thursday. A federal judge already halted the originally planned Thursday execution of Jason McGehee, due to issues with the way the condensed execution schedule had altered the state's clemency process. </s> LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 24 (Reuters) - Two Arkansas killers were scheduled on Monday to become the first pair of convicts put to death on the same day in the United States in 17 years, barring a last-minute reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jack Jones, 52, and Marcel Williams, 46, were scheduled for back-to-back executions by injection on Monday evening.

Jones filed two applications with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday afternoon seeking to have his execution halted, while Williams was likely to file his appeal in the coming hours.

Both men had previously asked for stays on the grounds that their obesity and related health conditions could expose them to unconstitutional pain and suffering if their death sentences were carried out.

Both the Arkansas Supreme Court and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis rejected the men's requests.

In addition to appealing the obesity issue to the Supreme Court, Jones separately argued that the Arkansas Supreme Court applied the wrong standard of review in 1997 when considering whether a jury properly determined his death sentence.

The inmates' likelihood of success may have diminished with the recent appointment of conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Last week, the high court cleared the way for Arkansas to hold its first execution in 12 years, and the state executed murderer Ledell Lee.

The last time a state executed two inmates on the same day was 2000 in Texas.

Jones, sentenced in 1996 for raping and strangling Mary Phillips and attempting to murder her 11-year-old daughter, was scheduled to be put to death on Monday at 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT)at the Cummins Unit prison, about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of the state capital, Little Rock. Jones also was convicted of rape and murder in Florida.

Williams was tentatively scheduled to be executed at 8:15 p.m. CDT (0115 GMT on Tuesday) for the 1997 kidnapping, rape and murder of Stacy Errickson. He also abducted and raped two other women.

The condemned pair were among eight inmates that Arkansas had initially planned to execute in 11 days this month, a compressed schedule prompted by the impending expiration date of supplies of midazolam, the sedative used by the state for lethal injections.

The drug was used in flawed executions in Oklahoma and Arizona, where witnesses said the inmates writhed in apparent pain on the gurney. No problems were reported in Lee's execution on Thursday.

Four of the planned executions have been put on hold by court order, including two pending the outcome of a case heard on Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court's four liberal justices appeared sympathetic to the argument by Alabama death row inmate James McWilliams that he is entitled to a mental health assessment from an independent medical expert before he can be executed.

Arkansas has scheduled a final execution for April on Thursday.

The unprecedented schedule generated a wave of criticism and legal challenges, including a lawsuit from the company that distributes one of the drugs. McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc claimed the state obtained its supplies under false pretenses, but the state's Supreme Court threw out that lawsuit last week. (Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Trott) </s> Arkansas was proceeding with plans to conduct the nation's first double execution in more than 16 years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the first to move forward, turning back the inmate's claims that his poor health could cause excruciating pain during the lethal injection.

Justices rejected a stay request from Jack Jones, who was set to die at 7 p.m. Monday. A second inmate, Marcel Williams, was set for execution later Monday though he still has pending legal challenges.

In Jones' case, attorneys said he takes a daily dose of two medications to treat chronic pain, and they worry those drugs could desensitize him to the effects of midazolam, a sedative that is the first drug used in Arkansas' lethal injection protocol. Jones also has diabetes and had a leg amputated in prison.

Williams, set for execution at 8:15 p.m., has appeals pending with the U.S. Supreme Court. Williams' "morbid obesity makes it likely that either the IV line cannot be placed or that it will be placed in error, thus causing substantial damage (like a collapsed lung)," his attorneys wrote in a court filing asking justices to block the execution.

Both men were served last meals on Monday afternoon, Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said. Jones had fried chicken, potato logs with tartar sauce, beef jerky bites, three candy bars, a chocolate milkshake and fruit punch. Williams had fried chicken, banana pudding, nachos, two sodas and potato logs with ketchup, Graves said.

They would be the second and third inmates executed by Arkansas this month. A fourth execution is set for Thursday. Arkansas initially wanted to execute eight men before a drug used to sedate the inmates expires Sunday, but four other inmates have won stays.

Before Ledell Lee's execution last Thursday, Arkansas hadn't put an inmate to death since 2005. In several of the 31 states where executions are legal, drug shortages have often forced delays as manufacturers prohibit their use in executions. Arkansas believes that secrecy it grants to suppliers can solve that problem, though it still has difficulty obtaining the drugs. Courts have also forced rewrites of Arkansas' lethal injection protocols, causing further delays. Jones and Williams committed their crimes more than two decades ago.

In recent pleadings before state and federal courts, the inmates say the three drugs Arkansas uses to execute prisoners — midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride — could be ineffective because of their poor health.

Jones, 52, has lost a leg to diabetes and is on insulin. Williams, 46, weighs 400 pounds, is diabetic and has concerns that the execution team might not be able to find a suitable vein to support an intravenous line.

The poor health of both men, their lawyers claim, could make it difficult for them to respond during a consciousness check following a megadose of midazolam. The state shouldn't risk giving them drugs to stop their lungs and hearts if they aren't unconscious, they have told courts.

In a response filed with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the state said the inmates had filed an "avalanche" of lawsuits to obtain stays. The men's attorneys countered that the state forced their hands.

"If there was an 'avalanche' of litigation, as the state complains, that's because the state created an avalanche of execution dates," Julie Vandiver wrote.

The 8th Circuit rejected Jones' and Williams' requests for stays Monday, and the Arkansas Supreme Court said Monday it wouldn't reopen the men's cases and refused to issue stays. Williams' attorneys once again asked the state Supreme Court to reopen the case in a filing late Monday afternoon, arguing that Williams' prior attorney had plagiarized a court filing years ago.

The initial eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried out before its supply of the sedative midazolam expires on April 30.

The last state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day was Texas, which executed two killers in August 2000. Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014 but scrapped plans for the second one after the execution of Clayton Lockett went awry.

Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.

Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and killing of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

Authorities said Williams abducted and raped two other women in the days before he was arrested in Errickson's death. Williams admitted responsibility to the state Parole Board last month.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't," Williams told the board.

Jones was given the death penalty for the 1995 rape and killing of Mary Phillips. He strangled her with the cord to a coffee pot.

In a letter earlier this month, Jones said he was ready to be killed by the state.

"I forgive my executioners; somebody has to do it," wrote Jones, who had a leg amputated in prison because of diabetes and uses a wheelchair.

The letter, which his attorney read aloud at his clemency hearing, went on to say: "I shall not ask to be forgiven, for I haven't the right."

Seven people have been executed in the United States this year, four in Texas and one each in Arkansas, Missouri and Virginia. Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Associated Press writers Jill Bleed contributed to this report from Little Rock.

Follow Andrew DeMillo at www.twitter.com/ademillo and Kelly P. Kissel at www.twitter.com/kisselap </s> Varner - Two inmates received lethal injections on the same gurney on Monday night about three hours apart as Arkansas completed the nation's first double execution since 2000, just days after the state ended a nearly 12-year hiatus on administering capital punishment.

While the first inmate, Jack Jones, was executed on schedule, shortly after 19:00, attorneys for the second, Marcel Williams, convinced a federal judge minutes later to briefly delay his punishment over concerns about how the earlier one was carried out. They claimed Jones gasped for air, an account the state's attorney general denied, but the judge lifted her stay about an hour later and Williams was pronounced dead at 22:33.

Initially, Governor Asa Hutchinson scheduled four double executions over an 11-day period in April. The eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a compressed period since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried out before its supply of one lethal injection drug expires on April 30.

The first three executions were canceled because of court decisions, then inmate Ledell Lee was executed last week.

Jones was sent to death row for the 1995 rape and killing of Mary Phillips. He strangled her with the cord to a coffee pot.

He was also convicted of attempting to kill Phillips' 11-year-old daughter and was convicted in another rape and killing in Florida.

Jones said earlier this month that he was ready for execution. He used a wheelchair and he'd had a leg amputated in prison because of diabetes.

Williams' "morbid obesity makes it likely that either the IV line cannot be placed or that it will be placed in error, thus causing substantial damage [like a collapsed lung]," his attorneys wrote in an earlier court filing asking justices to block the execution.

Both men were served last meals on Monday afternoon, Arkansas Department of Correction spokesperson Solomon Graves said. Jones had fried chicken, potato logs with tartar sauce, beef jerky bites, three candy bars, a chocolate milkshake and fruit punch. Williams had fried chicken, banana pudding, nachos, two sodas and potato logs with ketchup, Graves said.

In recent pleadings before state and federal courts, the inmates said the three drugs Arkansas uses to execute prisoners - midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - could be ineffective because of their poor health.

Jones, 52, lost a leg to diabetes and was on insulin. Williams, 46, weighs 181kg, is diabetic and has concerns that the execution team might not be able to find a suitable vein to support an intravenous line.

The poor health of both men, their lawyers claimed, could make it difficult for them to respond during a consciousness check following a megadose of midazolam. The state shouldn't risk giving them drugs to stop their lungs and hearts if they aren't unconscious, they have told courts.

The last state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day was Texas, which executed two killers in August 2000. Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014, but scrapped plans for the second one after the execution of Clayton Lockett went awry.

Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.

Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and killing of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

Authorities said Williams abducted and raped two other women in the days before he was arrested in Errickson's death. Williams admitted responsibility to the state Parole Board last month.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't," Williams told the board.

In a letter earlier this month, Jones said he was ready to be killed by the state. The letter, which his attorney read aloud at his clemency hearing, went on to say: "I shall not ask to be forgiven, for I haven't the right."

Including Jones and Williams, nine people have been executed in the United States this year, four in Texas, three in Arkansas and one each in Missouri and Virginia.

Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre. </s> A federal judge temporarily halted a second execution Monday night in Arkansas after attorneys said in a court filing that the first execution for Jack Jones "appeared to be tortuous and inhumane.".

A federal judge temporarily halted a second execution Monday night in Arkansas after attorneys said in a court filing that the first execution for Jack Jones "appeared to be tortuous and inhumane.".

(Arkansas Department of Correction via AP, File). This undated file photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmate Jack Jones, who is one of two Arkansas killers set to die Monday, April 24, 2017.

(Arkansas Department of Correction via AP, File). FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmate Marcel Williams who is one of two Arkansas killers set to die Monday, April 24, 2017.

(Arkansas Department of Correction via AP, File). This combination of undated file photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmates Jack Jones, left, and Marcel Williams.

VARNER, Ark. (AP) - After going nearly 12 years without executing an inmate, Arkansas now has executed three in a few days - including two in one night.

Jack Jones and Marcel Williams received lethal injections on the same gurney Monday night, just about three hours apart. It was the first double execution in the United States since 2000.

While Jones, 52, was executed on schedule, shortly after 7 p.m., attorneys for Williams, 46, convinced a federal judge minutes later to briefly delay his execution over concerns about how the earlier one was carried out. They claimed Jones "was moving his lips and gulping for air," an account the state's attorney general denied, but the judge lifted her stay about an hour later and Williams was pronounced dead at 10:33 p.m.

In the emergency filing, Williams' attorneys wrote that officials spent 45 minutes trying to place an IV line in Jones' neck before placing it elsewhere. It argued that Williams, who weighs 400 pounds, could have faced a "torturous" death because of his weight.

Intravenous lines are placed before witnesses are allowed access to the death chamber.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said Jones moved his lips briefly after the midazolam was administered, and officials put a tongue depressor in his mouth intermittently for the first few minutes. His chest stopped moving two minutes after they checked for consciousness, and he was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m.

Asked why Jones' lips moved, Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said he understood that the inmate was apologizing to the department director, Wendy Kelley, and thanking her for the way she treated him.

Williams was already in the death chamber when the temporary stay was issued. He was escorted out of the chamber and used the restroom, then was brought back in after the stay was lifted.

Initially, Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled four double executions over an 11-day period in April. The eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a compressed period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried out before its supply of one lethal injection drug expires on April 30.

Besides the two executions Monday, Arkansas put to death one other inmate last week and has a final one scheduled for Thursday. Four others have been blocked.

Before last week, Arkansas hadn't had an execution since 2005 or a double execution since 1999.

Jones, who'd argued that his health conditions could lead to a painful death, gave a lengthy last statement. His final words were: "I'm sorry."

"I hope over time you can learn who I really am and I am not a monster," he said in the roughly 2-minute statement.

Jones was sent to death row for the 1995 rape and killing of Mary Phillips. He strangled her with the cord to a coffee pot.

He was also convicted of attempting to kill Phillips' 11-year-old daughter and was convicted in another rape and killing in Florida.

Jones said earlier this month that he was ready for execution. He used a wheelchair and he'd had a leg amputated in prison because of diabetes.

Williams' "morbid obesity makes it likely that either the IV line cannot be placed or that it will be placed in error, thus causing substantial damage (like a collapsed lung)," his attorneys wrote in an earlier court filing asking justices to block the execution.

Both men were served last meals on Monday afternoon, according to Graves, the corrections department spokesman. Jones had fried chicken, potato logs with tartar sauce, beef jerky bites, three candy bars, a chocolate milkshake and fruit punch. Williams had fried chicken, banana pudding, nachos, two sodas and potato logs with ketchup, Graves said.

In recent pleadings before state and federal courts, the inmates said the three drugs Arkansas uses to execute prisoners - midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - could be ineffective because of their poor health.

Williams weighed 400 pounds, was diabetic and had concerns that the execution team might not be able to find a suitable vein to support an intravenous line.

The poor health of both men, their lawyers claimed, could make it difficult for them to respond during a consciousness check following a megadose of midazolam. The state shouldn't risk giving them drugs to stop their lungs and hearts if they aren't unconscious, they have told courts.

The last state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day was Texas, which executed two killers in August 2000. Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014 but scrapped plans for the second one after the execution of Clayton Lockett went awry.

Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.

Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and killing of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

Authorities said Williams abducted and raped two other women in the days before he was arrested in Errickson's death. Williams admitted responsibility to the state Parole Board last month.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't," Williams told the board.

In a letter earlier this month, Jones said he was ready to be killed by the state. The letter, which his attorney read aloud at his clemency hearing, went on to say: "I shall not ask to be forgiven, for I haven't the right."

Including Jones and Williams, nine people have been executed in the United States this year, four in Texas, three in Arkansas and one each in Missouri and Virginia. Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Associated Press writers Jill Bleed contributed to this report from Little Rock.

Follow Andrew DeMillo at www.twitter.com/ademillo and Kelly P. Kissel at www.twitter.com/kisselap

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Arkansas was set to execute eight inmates in 10 days.

However, the executions of Bruce Ward and Don Davis that were set to start on Monday, April 17 were stayed by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Late Monday night, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the stays.

Stacey Johnson's and Ledell Lee's executions are set for Thursday, April 20. Jack Jones and Marcell Williams are scheduled to be executed on Monday, April 24, and the final execution--that of Kenneth Williams--will be on Thursday, April 27. A federal judge recently stayed the execution of Jason McGehee, who was set to die before Williams on April 27.

The Arkansas Department of Correction has not executed a death row inmate since 2005, and no state has ever successfully executed two inmates in one day with the sedative drug Arkansas plans to use. Midazolam, the drug in question, also expires at the end of the month, which exacerbates the already tight execution schedule.

Here is THV11's comprehensive coverage of the executions.

Don Davis not executed after U.S. Supreme Court upholds stay of execution

The State of Arkansas has not executed Don Davis, who was scheduled to be the first of seven inmates executed over a 10-day period.

The United States Supreme Court denied an application by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to vacate the stay of his execution. Even up to the dismissal of Davis' execution, crews at the prison prepared as if the execution would take place. Davis was even given what was supposed to be his last meal.

Davis was convicted of murdering 62-year-old Jane Daniel in her home in Rogers in 1990.

Damien Echols, along with actor Johnny Depp and his closest friends, attended the rally as part of the fight against the executions. As he arrived to the State Capitol, Echols admitted to our cameraman that he felt that his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

Surrounded by friends and family, Echols faced great fear and anxiety as he stood at the podium addressing the crowd.

At first, Echols said he was hesitant to attend the rally, but soon changed his mind when he realized if not for the Alford plea he might have been one of the eight men set to be executed in a 10-day span.

Just one day after the Arkansas Supreme Court threw out a temporary restraining order, McKesson Medical-Surgical Incorporated have filed a new lawsuit asking for the State of Arkansas to return its supply of one of the drugs used in the executions.

Originally, Judge Wendell Griffen issued a temporary restraining order against the state until it returned 10 vials of 20mg vecuronium bromide to McKesson. But the judge was taken off the case by the state's Supreme Court and the temporary restraining order was thrown out.

In this new lawsuit, McKesson claimed that the manufacturer of the drug prohibits the company from distributing or selling vecuronium for use in capital punishments

What's changed since the 2005 execution of Eric Nance?

“What is a delay?” Those were the words of Eric Nance as he sat awaiting his death at 8 o’clock on a Monday night.

He had eaten his final meal a few hours earlier; a bacon cheeseburger, French fries, ice cream and a Coke. He had been inquiring about his funeral arrangements and what would happen to his belongings. He asked what or who he should look at as the lethal injection took place. Nance had no final parting words for the records and no parting words for the family of Julie Heath.

Heath was the 18-year-old Malvern cheerleader Eric Nance was convicted of murdering back in 1993. He had stabbed her in the throat with a box cutter after seeing her standing by her broken-down car along U.S. 270.

The Innocence Project has asked an Arkansas circuit court to grant new DNA testing to death row inmate Stacey Johnson. The inmate is one of seven men set to be executed in a 10-day span starting on April 17.

In a press release, the group said newer DNA testing has "never been performed" in Johnson's case and could potentially prove he is innocent of the crime he's been charged with.

Johnson was convicted of the murder of Carol Heath in April of 1993. She was found only wearing a t-shirt. The evidence shows she was stabbed in the throat and raped. Johnson has maintained his innocence throughout his entire time in prison.

The ACLU has filed a stay for Ledell Lee's upcoming execution as well as filing a motion for post-conviction DNA testing in Ledell Lee's case Monday.

The group cited two reasons why Lee's execution should be stayed. The ACLU said that DNA testing at the time of his conviction wasn't "sophisticated enough" to test fragmented samples.

The second reason, the ACLU said, is that Lee has an intellectual disability that stems from fetal alcohol syndrome.

With the scheduled executions dominating much of the talk in Arkansas, one Conway woman reached out to us and asked us, "Does the death penalty deter crime?" We brought her closer to the answer by introducing her to a criminologist to verify whether capital punishment does or does not decrease violent crime.

Jenny Wallace met us at UA Little Rock where we would begin to help her understand if using capital punishment actually does deter crime.

"I think I believed in the death penalty because everyone around me had that same belief so I kind of just wore those beliefs," Wallace said.

On Friday, April 14, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted an emergency stay for Bruce Ward, one of the 7 death row inmates set to be executed starting on Monday, April 17. He would've been one of the first two men executed under the state's plan.

Ward's attorneys argue that since he's diagnosed as a schizophrenic he has no "rational understanding" of his upcoming execution.

Ward has been on death row since 1990 for the strangulation death of 18-year-old Rebecca Lynn Doss.

In a private conference with local press, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced he is confident in the state's execution process.

He said everything will be moving forward as planned. Hutchinson said that overall, Arkansans support the death penalty and it's time to provide closure for the victim’s families after decades of legal work.

The governor said he has done his homework and asked the Department of Correction staff many questions about carrying out the executions. He feels the personnel that will be involved in the executions are well prepared, experienced and trained.

Arkansas has never used sedative midazolam

At the heart of the federal court challenge to Arkansas’s death penalty protocol is a drug called “midazolam.”

It’s the latest battleground in the 50-year debate over capital punishment in the United States. With Arkansas planning to execute seven inmates before its supply of the sedative runs out at the end of April, the issue is moving the state to the international stage.

But midazolam has never been used in Arkansas in executions, and no state has ever successfully executed two inmates in one day using the sedative.

Verify: What's the true cost of the death penalty?

Whether you’re for or against the death penalty, there is a heavy cost associated with the care of death row inmates. We wanted to verify the truth of it all by looking at the cost of execution versus incarceration.

"If we execute these people there may be some short term cost savings for those people, but when you look at the process as a whole, those savings are a lot less," said Robert Lytle, a Criminal Justice Assistant Professor at UA Little Rock.

After a trial, there are often multiple appeals, new trials, and standard legal proceedings in death penalty cases. The executions scheduled now are coming about 20 years after sentencing.

As the executions loomed near on Monday, the battle raged on between the State of Arkansas and attorneys for several death row inmates inside courtrooms across the country.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Kristine Baker's ruling Monday evening. Baker's ruling halted the executions over concerns about midazolam, one of the drugs used in the three-drug cocktail.

But it was the Arkansas Supreme Court that made two big decisions in the execution fight. The court managed to halt the executions of both Don Davis and Ward. Those two men were set to be executed Monday. Arkansas's high court also threw out a temporary restraining order which effectively blocked the use of one drug, vecuronium bromide. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge decided to only challenge the block of Davis' executions.

James Phillips’ wife, 34 year-old Mary Phillips, was raped and murdered and his daughter was almost beat to death by Jack Jones, one of the seven death row inmates set to be executed.

Phillips will be on the front row of Jones' execution April 24 as a witness.

“I don't think it will bother me a bit," he said. "I've been waiting for justice for nearly 22 years and that's all I'm after.”

While people around the world focus on the upcoming executions in Arkansas, some people are watching even more closely. One Arkansas woman is paying attention, to see she could find any additional comfort for her own loss.

“I just hope that this brings peace and comfort to the families,” said Bethany Ault-Pyle. “I really do. I think that, I know I would feel like it would, for me, if I could get that sort of justice for Briana.”

Ault-Pyle did not get what she felt was necessary after the murder of her daughter, Briana Ault, in 2010.

Here's why it takes so long to execute a death row inmate

According to the Bureau of Justice and Death Penalty Information Center, the average time from sentencing to execution for was just around 16 years. If no appeals are raised, that process can happen as soon as six months, but that rarely happens.

The wait to be executed puts stress not only on the inmates, but leaves grieving families in agony during the entire process.

Sister of murdered man wants funds to help victims' families

One woman whose brother was murdered in 1968 is against the death penalty, partly because she wants funds put towards helping victims’ families instead of sentencing the accused to death. In a special report, we told you the Arkansas Public Defender Commission can spend an estimate of $75,000 - $100,000 more in cases where the death penalty is sought. Judith Elane thinks that money can be better spent.

"The death penalty has never made any sense to me. I recall as a young person encountering, why do we kill people who kill people to teach killing people is wrong?” said Elane.

While an advocate to abolish the death penalty, Elane knows the pain of losing a brother to murder.

A federal judge has blocked the execution of one of the eight inmates Arkansas was planning to put to death this month.

"We will respond to any and all challenges that might occur between now and the executions as the prisoners continue to use all available means to delay their lawful sentence,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

All eyes on Arkansas as executions people draw near

Only a few hundred people live in the town of Grady, but the upcoming executions are drawing the attention of millions.

Deborah Robinson has spent a long time with this story. As a freelance journalist who works in both Little Rock and Las Vegas, she has spent most of the last two years writing a book about the eight inmates.

Talk about the pending executions has made its way into churches and religious settings. Many preachers, rabbis and bishops have been vocal about their stance.

Rabbi Barry Block of Congregation B'Nai Israel said he signed a multi-faith clergy letter opposing the upcoming executions.

I’m afraid that Arkansas would be blood thirsty if it allowed seven or eight executions to go forward,” said Block.

One week before executions are scheduled to begin, a new trial began April 10, which could be the last, best hope for the seven men who are scheduled to die later this month.

Inside the federal courthouse in downtown Little Rock, lawyers for the seven condemned inmates argued that midazolam, the first drug in the series of the three-drug cocktail the state plans to use, violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Doctor Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist from Emory University in Atlanta, testified that midazolam won't prevent pain, but will prevent the memory of pain.

Victim says inmate has found God, shouldn't be executed

Marcell Williams is on death row for killing 22 year old Stacy Errickson in 1994. He was found guilty of abducting her from a gas station, raping, and suffocating the young mother of two. Her body was found in a shallow grave weeks later.

“This man has turned his life around, and he’s found God," said Dina Windle, who claims she was abducted, raped, and tied up by Marcel Williams 22 years ago. She managed to escape and is now asking the parole board to give Williams another chance at life.

It is almost impossible to imagine what the men and women who are tasked with carrying out executions go through, particularly when confronted with one that does not go as planned.

Two dozen former corrections officials and administrators recently sent a letter to Hutchinson asking him to reconsider the schedule, out of concern for the “extraordinary and unnecessary stress and trauma” to the members of the execution team. Managing seven or eight rapid executions will be a brutalizing experience, even if there are no surprises.

Hall witnessed the execution of Kristina Riggs in 2000, he told us that 17 years later it still haunts him. We spoke with him on the phone today, but he declined an on-camera interview, saying the conversation would just be too hard. He signed up because he felt it was his duty as Riggs Lawyer but he said he doesn't know why anyone would want to volunteer.

He still remembers the last moments before Riggs death: she sang gospel hymns and prayed. He said when the drugs hit her system her whole body turned gray, an image he said he'll never forget.

Critics of capital punishment hope Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson hears their message to stop the scheduled executions of the “Arkansas Eight.” If he is at home, he might.

Members of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are staging a daily rally outside the Governor’s Mansion. They held signs, marched up and down the block, and chanted for mercy Wednesday afternoon, for Jason McGehee, and the rest of the Arkansas 8. McGehee became the first of the death row inmates scheduled for execution later this month to earn a recommendation of clemency from the Arkansas Parole Board. </s> LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Latest on Arkansas’ plan to execute several inmates before the end of April (all times local):

A group of Arkansas inmates is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block upcoming executions in the state, citing concerns with one of the lethal injection drugs.

The request was filed Wednesday by the eight inmates for whom Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled execution dates this month. A ninth death-row inmate who does not have a scheduled execution date also signed on to the request.

Last week, a federal judge in Little Rock blocked the executions, citing concerns with the sedative midazolam that has been used in problematic executions in other states. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order Monday, and the inmates appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Two executions are set for Thursday, followed by another double execution Monday and a single execution April 27. A double execution planned for earlier this week was halted by the state Supreme Court. A federal judge this month halted the last of the executions.

An inmate set to die Thursday night is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to block his execution so he can pursue more DNA tests in hopes of proving his innocence.

A judge in Pulaski County on Tuesday rejected the request for DNA testing from inmate Ledell Lee. Attorneys for the inmate filed a request Wednesday for a stay with the state’s highest court.

Arkansas plans to execute Lee and another inmate, Stacey Johnson, on Thursday night. There are no current stays blocking those executions, but both inmates have pending court challenges.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally scheduled eight executions to occur before the end of April, when one hard-to-acquire lethal injection drug expires. But courts have blocked three of those executions from going forward.

Lawyers for Arkansas inmates condemned to die Thursday in a planned double execution are claiming they are innocent and one of them says advanced DNA techniques could show he didn’t kill a woman in 1993.

Their strategy to win stays is in marked contrast to the first two inmates who faced the death chamber and were spared Monday by arguing they should not be put to death because of mental health issues.

Arkansas officials are vowing to press ahead despite the setback to plans to resume capital punishment after a 12-year hiatus. The state originally wanted to put to death eight men in 11 days but that is down to five after the two won stays Monday and a third was earlier put on hold by a federal judge. </s> LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Two Arkansas killers set to die Monday in the nation's first double execution in more than 16 years acknowledge they're guilty but fear the lethal injections could subject them to excruciating pain due to their various health problems.

Jack Jones and Marcel Williams say their medical conditions - which include obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure - could complicate their executions. Jones' execution is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and Williams' is slated to begin at 8:15 p.m. in the same execution chamber. They have asked courts to grant them stays. So far none has.

They would be the second and third inmates executed by Arkansas this month. A fourth execution is set for Thursday. Arkansas initially wanted to execute eight men before a drug used to sedate the inmates expires Sunday, but four other inmates have won stays.

Before Ledell Lee's execution last Thursday, Arkansas hadn't put an inmate to death since 2005. In several of the 31 states where executions are legal, drug shortages have often forced delays as manufacturers prohibit their use in executions. Arkansas believes that secrecy it grants to suppliers can solve that problem, though it still has difficulty obtaining the drugs. Courts have also forced rewrites of Arkansas' lethal injection protocols, causing further delays. Jones and Williams committed their crimes more than two decades ago.

In recent pleadings before state and federal courts, the inmates say the three drugs Arkansas uses to execute prisoners - midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - could be ineffective because of their poor health.

Jones, 52, has lost a leg to diabetes and is on insulin. Williams, 46, weighs 400 pounds, is diabetic and has concerns that the execution team might not be able to find a suitable vein to support an intravenous line.

The poor health of both men, their lawyers claim, could make it difficult for them to respond during a consciousness check following a megadose of midazolam. The state shouldn't risk giving them drugs to stop their lungs and hearts if they aren't unconscious, they have told courts.

In a response filed with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the state said the inmates had filed an "avalanche" of lawsuits to obtain stays. The men's attorneys countered that the state forced their hands.

"If there was an 'avalanche' of litigation, as the state complains, that's because the state created an avalanche of execution dates," Julie Vandiver wrote.

The 8th Circuit rejected Jones' and Williams' requests for stay Monday, and the Arkansas Supreme Court said Monday it wouldn't reopen the men's cases and refused to issue stays.

The initial eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried out before its supply of the sedative midazolam expires on April 30.

The last state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day was Texas, which executed two killers in August 2000. Arkansas executed four men in an eight day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.

Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and killing of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

Authorities said Williams abducted and raped two other women in the days before he was arrested in Errickson's death. Williams admitted responsibility to the state Parole Board last month.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't," Williams told the board.

Jones was given the death penalty for the 1995 rape and killing of Mary Phillips. He strangled her with the cord to a coffee pot.

In a letter earlier this month, Jones said he was ready to be killed by the state.

"I forgive my executioners; somebody has to do it," wrote Jones, who had a leg amputated in prison because of diabetes and uses a wheelchair.

The letter, which his attorney read aloud at his clemency hearing, went on to say: "I shall not ask to be forgiven, for I haven't the right."

Seven people have been executed in the United States this year, four in Texas and one each in Arkansas, Missouri and Virginia. Last year, 20 people were executed, down from 98 in 1999 and the lowest number since 14 in 1991, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Associated Press writers Jill Bleed and Kelly P. Kissel contributed to this report.
Arkansas becomes the first U.S. state since Texas in 2000 to hold two executions on the same day as executes convicted murderers Jack Jones, Jr. and Marcel Williams.