“Arkansas’s decision to rush through the execution of Mr. Lee just because its supply of lethal drugs are expiring at the end of the month denied him the opportunity to conduct DNA testing
that could have proven his innocence,” Nina Morrison, one of Mr. Lee’s lawyers, said in a statement.
“While reasonable people can disagree on whether death is an appropriate form of punishment,
no one should be executed when there is a possibility that person is innocent.”
As Mr. Lee’s lawyers spent Thursday urging the courts to spare his life, the cascade of legal developments did not affect the stay of execution
that another inmate, Stacey E. Johnson, received on Wednesday evening, about 24 hours before he was scheduled to be put to death.
Arkansas Puts Ledell Lee to Death, in Its First Execution Since 2005 -
By ALAN BLINDER and MANNY FERNANDEZAPRIL 21, 2017
— The State of Arkansas, dismissing criticism that it intended to rush too many prisoners to their
deaths too quickly, on Thursday night carried out its first execution in more than a decade.
At one point on Thursday night, the Supreme Court nearly halted Mr. Lee’s execution,
but decided, 5 to 4, to allow the state to proceed with its plan, which had called for eight prisoners to be put to death over less than two weeks.