Alabama’s first execution since they were paused last November may proceed on Thursday, court says

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to stop an upcoming execution in Alabama. Sixty-four-year-old James Barber is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening at a south Alabama prison. It is the first execution scheduled in the state since Gov. Kay Ivey paused them in November for an internal review. That came after two lethal injections were called off because of difficulties inserting IVs. Advocacy groups said a third execution was botched, though the state disputes that. The judges said the state conducted a review of execution procedures and Barber’s assertion that the “same pattern would continue to occur” is “purely speculative.”