Alabama is seeking to proceed with executions after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of a drug that the state plans to begin using in lethal injections. The state attorney general's office asked a federal judge in U.S. District Court filing Monday to dismiss a death row inmate's lawsuit claiming the sedative Midazolam is ineffective. A divided Supreme Court last month ruled 5-4 in a case from Oklahoma that the same drug can be used in executions without violating the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. However, a lawyer for Alabama inmate Tommy Arthur says the case should still go on trial, claiming that Oklahoma's lethal injection protocol differs substantially from Alabama's. Alabama has not carried out an execution in almost two years.
Candidate Debate
Montgomery's mayoral election is August 25th. Tuesday night at a west Montgomery church, five candidates competing for the city's highest office offered their ideas for moving Montgomery forward. Ella Bell, Artur Davis, Buena Browder, Dan Harris and incumbent Todd Strange participated in a debate that centered on economic development, public education and prison reform.
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour arrives in east Alabama Thursday for the start of the Barbasol Championship at the Grand National Course in Opelika. Thursday through Sunday, 131 golfers will compete for a share of the $3.5 million dollar purse, the winner gets $630,000. It is the first time the PGA Tour has held an event in Alabama in 25 years.