Lawyers for a Texas murder convict filed appeal Monday, citing the infamous Oklahoma botched execution and challenging the state's use of secretly manufactured drugs.
Robert Campbell, 41, was found guilty of murdering 20-year-old Alexandra Rendson, a Houston bank teller, in January 1991. She was abducted, raped and shot dead.
He will be the first inmate to be given the lethal dose since Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett's execution went wrong last month. He died of a heart attack at least 30 minutes after he was administered a new combination of drugs. Campbell is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening.
According to Campbell's lawyers, Lockett's botched execution is the reason why most of the inmates seek information on the drugs used for death sentence. Texas has constantly refused to share information about the source of lethal drugs citing protection issues of the manufacturers.
"This is a crucial moment when Texas must recognize that death row prisoners can no longer presume safety unless full disclosure is compelled so that the courts can fully review the lethal injection drugs to be used and ensure that they are safe and legal," said Maurie Levin, one of Campbell's attorneys, reports the Associated Press.
The lawyers also stated that Lockett's attempts to get information about the drugs failed resulting in his "torturous" execution that violated the Eighth Amendment. "Campbell seeks to protect his right not to suffer the death experienced by Lockett."
Last Friday, the district judge Keith P Ellison cited precedent for not disclosing the source of the drugs in Campbell's case. However, he stated that the federal appeals court should re-examine the matter and consider more transparency after Lockett's failed execution.
Ellison wrote, "The horrific narrative of Oklahoma's botched execution of Clayton Lockett on 29 April, 2014 requires sober reflection on the manner in which this nation administers the ultimate punishment ... this court urges the fifth circuit to reconsider its jurisprudence that seems to shield crucial elements of the execution process from open inquiry."
Apart from the botched execution and secrecy of the drugs, Campbell's lawyers argued that he was intellectually disabled and had an IQ of 69. Furthermore, his previous legal representation was insufficient, which made the execution unconstitutional, they argue.
In March, Texas officials confirmed that they would be using a new set of the lethal sedative pentobarbital refusing to disclose the identity of the supplier, reports TIME.
Since Lockett's botched execution, Oklahoma issued a six-month stay on capital punishment until the investigation into the matter is completed.
Two more death row inmates have appealed citing the botched execution. Russell Bucklew will be executed in Missouri next week. His lawyers appealed saying that a vascular tumor and circulatory problems might pose risks, reports Agence France-Presse. Another inmate from Pennsylvania, Richard Poplawski, has been given the death sentence. However, no date has been fixed for his execution. In his appeal he seeks information on the drugs to be used and from where.
