Double Execution in Arkansas: First Since 1976

As the state of Arkansas executed two inmates by lethal injection in a single day for the first time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, lawyers pushed to block the executions until the last minute. Despite their efforts, 50-year-old Jonas Whitmore, convicted of killing a woman who let him into her home in 1986, and 39-year-old Edward Charles Pickens, convicted of shooting death of a retired farmer during an armed robbery in 1975, were executed on schedule.

Key Takeaways:

Jonas Whitmore was convicted of killing Essie Mae Black, a 62-year-old woman who let him into her home in 1986, and was declared dead at 8:08 P.M.
Edward Charles Pickens was convicted of shooting death of Wesley Noble, a 76-year-old retired farmer, during an armed robbery in 1975, and died 1 hour after Whitmore.
Whitmore's lawyers challenged Governor Jim Guy Tucker's refusal of clemency due to a potential conflict of interest, but a Federal judge found no constitutional violation.
Pickens's death sentence was overturned twice, but a Federal district judge's ruling was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1996.
A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit initially granted a stay to Pickens's execution, but the full 10-judge court lifted it 2 days later.
Whitmore was 50 years old at the time of his execution, while Pickens was 21 years old in 1975 when he committed the crime.

Statistics:

2 executions were carried out in a single day in Arkansas for the first time since 1976.
50-year-old Jonas Whitmore was declared dead at 8:08 P.M. after lethal injection.
Edward Charles Pickens died 1 hour after Whitmore, also by lethal injection.

Sources:

[The New York Times]
[No publication date mentioned in the source]