Method
For all people sentenced after 4 July 1983, the method used is the lethal injection. Under state law:
- "The punishment of death is to be administered by a continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of an ultra-short-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent…"
If the person was sentenced before that date, they have the choice of the electric chair or lethal injection. However, since no inmates are eligible for that method, the electric chair has all but been retired for use in volunteers to be used.
If lethal injection is ever ruled unconstitutional, the electric chair can be used for all death sentences.
Clemency rests with the governor of Arkansas, who receives a non-binding report from the Arkansas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Executions in Arkansas are currently performed at the Cummins Unit.
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
Juveniles can be tried as adults at the age of 14 for capital murder.
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In Arkansas
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