Yesterday, January 21, 2016, death row inmate Christopher Eugene brooks died by lethal injection for the rape and killing of a Homewood, Alabama woman in 1992. The Eleventh Circuit denied his denied his request for a stay of his execution, and the clock is running.
Since SCOTUS didn’t step in to hear his case, his death marks the first lethal injection death in Alabama ever since the state changed the composition of its lethal injection cocktail. The recipe of that fatal brew is itself a matter of much contention.
Time and Place
Brooks was executed at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. His lawyer sent the necessary calls for help to the Alabama governor and the U.S. Supreme Court, but without success.
Lethal Injection Cocktail
One of the legal issues that could possibly have saved Brooks’ life was the constitutionality of the lethal drug combination. In particular, the second and third chemicals injected into the inmate-victim are highly highly controversial.
The 1992 Crime
Brooks was tried and convicted in late 1992 for the rape-and-murder of a young woman in her twenties, Ms. Jo Deann Campbell. The evidence against him was compelling, including DNA, fingerprints and other circumstantial items found in his car that police knew belonged to the victim. So far he has maintained his innocence.
It’s been more than 20 years since Ms. Campbell’s death.
Related Resources:
- Today: Alabama Death Row Inmate to be Executed(WHNT)
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- 11th Circuit Revives Age Discrimination Suit Against MetLife (FindLaw’s U.S. Eleventh Circuit Blog)
- ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ Upheld in 11th Circuit (FindLaw’s U.S. Eleventh Circuit Blog)
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