State executes Alderman

Jack Alderman was executed last night at the state prison in Jackson. Georgia’s longest-serving death row inmate was pronounced dead at 7:25 following a 14-minute lethal injection procedure. Prison officials say Alderman barely touched his last meal, and refused a sedative for the process. He also declined to make a final statement. Alderman was put to death for the killing of his wife in 1974.

Alderman clemency bid to be heard today

The state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles will convene this morning at 9 o’clock to consider a plea for clemency for convicted killer Jack Alderman. Monday, a Fulton County judge ruled Alderman should get a stay of execution until an appeal was heard. Alderman was scheduled to die tonight at 7pm for the 1974 murder of his wife. The board of Pardons and Paroles will hear from Alderman’s family and friends, religious leaders and a psychologist. Alderman is the longest serving inmate on Georgia's death row.

Alderman gets stay of execution

Convicted killer Jack Alderman was granted a stay of execution by a Fulton County judge Monday morning. Superior Court judge Melvin Westmoreland said in a hearing that Alderman's sentence should not be carried out until he receives a "meaningful" hearing with the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. Alderman was scheduled to die at 7pm tomorrow night for the death of his wife Barbara in Chatham County in 1974. Alderman is the longest serving prisoner on Georgia's death row.

Plea to spare Alderman's life rejected

The federal appeals court in Atlanta rejected an appeal of death row inmate Jack Alderman. condemned to die Sept. 16 for the 1974 slaying of his wife in Chatham County.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's denial of Alderman's challenge to Georgia's lethal injection method.
The district court judge had dismissed Alderman's appeal, saying he waited too long to raise the claim after the Legislature adopted lethal injection in October 2001.
The Georgia Supreme Court issued a stay of execution in October while the U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue of lethal injection. The nation's high court ruled earlier this year that it does not violate the Constitution.
Georgia has executed two men since then.

Troy Davis gets new execution date

A death row inmate is scheduled to die by lethal injection September 23rd. Troy Davis was convicted of gunning down a Savannah police officer in 1989. Davis' case has drawn international headlines since several witnesses recanted their testimony against him. However the Georgia Supreme Court rejected Davis' appeal in March and a plea to reconsider the ruling in April. His appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his case is pending. Yesterday the state scheduled another execution date, that of Jack Alderman, for September 16th.

Execution date set

Georgia authorities have set Sept. 16 as an execution date for convicted killer Jack Alderman. Alderman is sentenced to die in the 1974 slaying of his 20-year-old wife, Barbara, in Chatham County. Authorities say Alderman and an accomplice wanted to collect $20,000 in life insurance money. Alderman was just a day away from being put to death last October. The Georgia Supreme Court issued a stay halting the execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue of lethal injection. The nation's high court ruled earlier this year that lethal injection does not violate the Constitution. Georgia has executed two men since that ruling. A third had his death sentence commuted to life in prison by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

(Associated Press)

High court delays execution

Today the Georgia Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to a man convicted of killing two people in Spalding County in 1990. Curtis Osborne had been set to die by lethal injection tomorrow. The court said it was granting an indefinite stay to Osborne because the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Last week, the state Supreme Court issued a stay to convicted killer Jack Alderman for the same reason.

Alderman gets stay of execution

Convicted killer Jack Alderman received a stay by Georgia's top court Thursday, which delays his execution scheduled for today. In their decision, the state's top justices cited the move by the U.S Supreme Court to look at the challenge to lethal injection, and whether it violates the Constitution. Just recently, the nation's top court stepped-in to halt an execution in Virginia. Alderman is on death row for the murder of his wife in 1974.

Alderman plea denied by state's top court

Attorneys for death row inmate Jack Alderman will be back before the state Board of Pardons and Paroles today, looking to block his execution set for Friday. Yesterday, Georgia’s Supreme Court denied Alderman’s request for stay of execution. The decision by Georgia’s top court comes as other states have put executions on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether lethal injection violates the Constitution. Nevada just last night became the latest state to halt an execution--just 90 minutes before it was to take place.

Stay of execution denied

Today the Georgia Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for convicted killer Jack Alderman. Alderman is scheduled to die by lethal injection Friday. His lawyers had sought to halt his execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether lethal injections violate the Constitution. Courts in several other states have temporarily halted lethal injections while the nation's top court considers their legality.

Alderman lawyers ask for 90-day stay

The lawyers for convicted killer Jack Alderman have declined to seek clemency for their client before the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. They are instead arguing for a 90-day stay of execution--a motion the board says it does not have the authority to grant. His attorneys are focused on an appeal connected to a challenge to lethal injection before the U.S. Supreme Court. Alderman on Monday passed on a chance to meet with state parole board officials. The state parole board has warned that Alderman may miss a chance to avoid execution. In less than a week, Alderman is scheduled to be put to death for the 1974 killing of his wife in Chatham County.

Lawyers for death row inmate plan appeal

Lawyers for convicted murderer Jack Alderman say they will appeal a Superior Court judge's decision not to stay the pending execution, which is scheduled for October 19th. Georgia's Supreme Court is expected to put the case on its docket for later this week. Alderman was sentenced to death for the 1974 murder of his wife in Chatham County. He is one of two inmates set for execution by the state this month. Curtis Osborne is scheduled to be put to death October 23rd, for the killing of two people in Spalding County in 1990.

Kentucky death penalty case could impact Georgia

The nation's highest court plans to hear a challenge to lethal injection in death penalty cases, but Georgia is staying the course.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case brought by two death row inmates in Kentucky against that state's method of lethal injection. They argue that the process is cruel and unusual punishment.

Defense Attorney Michael Siem has filed a similar challenge in district court against Georgia's lethal injection process. He says both states use a lethal three-drug cocktail that leaves much room for error.

In both states, he says, "You use untrained, unqualified individuals to do this procedure, and there’s a high risk that the person is not anesthetized properly so they’re not at the surgical point of consciousness that you would want them at to insure they’re not feeling pain and suffering."

Siem represents convicted murderer Jack Alderman, who is one of three Georgia inmates who could be executed as early as next month.

State Attorney General Thurbert Baker says Georgia will continue scheduling executions by lethal injection unless the U.S. Supreme Court rules otherwise.