LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld Arkansas’ use of the sedative midazolam in its lethal injections.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court judge’s ruling upholding the state’s execution process. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker in 2020 ruled that the state’s use of midazolam in injections is constitutional and dismissed claims that less painful methods of execution are available.