Should TN's botched execution affect KY's death penalty? State's lawyers argue no
A Franklin County judge will decide whether he wants to add or remove claims from a death penalty case that has rolled on for more than two decades. In the latest twist in a long case, attorneys for several of Kentucky’s death-row prisoners asked Judge Phillip Shepherd to reconsider claims he previously dismissed in a death penalty lawsuit after the failed execution of Tennessee death-row inmate Christa Pike. David Barron, an attorney for 13 of Kentucky’s death row prisoners, filed a motion in October asking Shepherd to reinstate two claims to the lawsuit that, if successful, would allow attorneys of inmates to view IV insertion, and to have prompt access to a telephone during their client’s IV insertion. Barron pointed to Pike’s failed execution as a reason why Kentucky should implement these two measures during executions. But the state and department of corrections disagree, saying that bringing the claims back is speculative. “Even Tennessee doesn’t know what happened,” said department of corrections attorney Crystal Thompson. “What happened in Tennessee doesn’t have an effect on what is happening here.” At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Shepherd heard arguments from both sides and plans to take them into account before a decision is
