Overview

• Gov. Kay Ivey set the execution window for Oct. 23–24 and said she does not plan to grant clemency.
• Boyd’s federal lawsuit argues nitrogen hypoxia is unconstitutionally cruel, citing a heavily redacted protocol and witnesses who described gasping, shaking and apparent suffocation in prior executions.
• His filing proposes firing squad, hanging or medical aid-in-dying as feasible alternatives.
• The attorney general’s office has asked the judge to dismiss the case, asserting nitrogen hypoxia causes rapid, painless unconsciousness and that observed movements were expected or resistance.
• Alabama has used nitrogen in five executions and has another scheduled in September, and Boyd chose nitrogen in 2018 before procedures were developed.