After I'd Fallen Asleep Last Night -- Secure In Believing The 11th Circuit Had Spared Mr. Smith... Justice Thomas Issued An Entirely NEW Order -- To Kill Him.

The only thing that spared him was. . . that the Alabama prison guards could not find a vein before midnight, local time.

But the Eleventh Circuit had by 8 PM granted a right to briefings on the notion of lethal injections for infirm, and older inmates, whose veins may be very hard to tap.

And again, the SCOTUSBlog has all the torturing details. This stop-start-stop is itself a violation of the Eighth Amendment, if nothing else is:

. . .Shortly after the court issued its brief order around 11:20 p.m. EST, Alabama officials attempted to carry out a lethal injection of Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire. But they called off the execution when they had problems inserting intravenous lines to administer the lethal drugs.

It was the second time since September that Alabama began an execution only to cancel it midway through the procedure due to problems accessing the prisoner’s veins. . . .

The death warrant expired at midnight, and so Mr. Kenneth Smith. . . did not. His Eleventh Circuit arguments will likely be heard next week. Damn. What is. . . wrong with Clarence Thomas? We must put an end to all this. . . lunacy. We are. . . barbarians here.

Sickening.

नमस्ते