Failed Execution In Alabama Results In Convict Undergoing Two Hours of Torture Leaving Him Punctured And Bleeding

11Aborted after two and half hours but officials deny everything

The execution attempt was aborted after two and half hours. The officials at the Alabama correction facility denied all claims of the event and said there were no problems with the entire procedure. According to them, the execution was stopped because they could not meet the midnight deadline.

Commissioner of Alabama Department of Corrections Jeff Dunn said "I wouldn't necessarily characterize what we had tonight as a problem, the only indication I have is that in their medical judgment it was more of a time issue, given the late hour." 

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12Execution procedures are kept secret

Lawyer Dunham was in total disagreement saying that in Alabama, execution protocols and procedures are kept secret. "They don't allow witness to observe critical points of the process," he said. "This is an illustration of why secrecy is such bad public policy.” 

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13Hamm was already suffering from cancer that compromised veins

Defense attorneys also stated in the filing report that Hamm suffered from “active lymphatic cancer” a condition which had created unusual lymph nodes on his body and also his groin. This had earlier been identified by an independent medical expert who stated it was a problem.

This new disclosure had prompted Hamm’s defense to argue for several months that a lethal injection execution would amount to torture for the convict. It would be a “cruel and inhuman punishment” simply because the veins in his body had been compromised by cancer and intravenous usage. 

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14He had requested oral lethal injection but refused

Harcourt revealed that his client had asked for an execution by oral lethal injection which was denied by the court earlier. Alabama Attorney State general’s office said that the plea to challenge the manner of execution had come too late. Moreover Hamm’s lawyers failed to present proof of his condition. 

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15Double jeopardy is protected by the Fifth Amendment

The defense is now asking for full relief from the “now unconstitutional sentence of death." They feel that the unusual punishment was a painful process during which their client wished many times for death. They termed the act as a “constitutionally prohibited cruel, unnecessarily painful, slow, and lingering process to death.". Thus a second execution would be a clear case of double jeopardy that is a condition protected by the Fifth Amendment. 

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