11th Circuit stays Alabama execution; state has appealed

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — An appellate court has ordered a halt to the scheduled execution of an Alabama inmate convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife, but the state is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to proceed with the lethal injection. The 11th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay, blocking the Thursday night execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith after he raised concerns about problems with venous access at the state’s last two scheduled lethal injections. Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men paid $1,000 each to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband. A jury voted 11-1 to recommend a life sentence, but a judge overrode the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Smith to death.