Appeals Court Opens Way For Mississippi To Resume Executions

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi could be able to resume executions early next month after an appeals court denied to rehear a case challenging a drug the state plans to use in lethal injections.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday denied the motion by Ricky Chase, Richard Jordan and Thomas Loden Jr. to have the entire court reconsider a February ruling by a three-judge appeals panel. Jordan and Loden have exhausted their appeals, meaning Attorney General Jim Hood could ask the state Supreme Court to set execution dates.

The judgment will be published July 5, dissolving a freeze on executions by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate. The three-judge panel overruled Wingate in February, saying questions about whether Mississippi is using drugs that don’t meet state legal requirements belong in state court.