The Atlantic

When Alabama Killed Jimi Barber

Elizabeth Bruenig on what happens now that, after a year of botched procedures, the state has executed a man without incident
A correctional facility in Alabama in 2015
Source: Brynn Anderson / AP

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After a series of botched executions, Alabama recently managed to execute a prisoner without incident. What does that mean for the future of capital punishment in the state?

First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:


A Killing Without Incident

Late last month, the state of Alabama executed a man named Jimi Barber. That the this week. Last year, the state made history by botching three executions in a row: Two condemned men, Alan Miller and Kenny Smith, survived their own attempted killings, pierced with needles over and over as executioners tried to set IV lines, until their death warrants expired at midnight. Another man, Joe Nathan James, was executed after repeated to insert an IV catheter all over his body.

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