TB&P Daily: John Brummett on state executions past, present and future

After a dramatic night of legal maneuvering that led to the state of Arkansas not executing a death row inmate, columnist John Brummett offers his insights on the process that unfolded and where we go from here.

Brummett, who writes for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and is a Talk Business & Politics contributor, described some of the lessons learned in Monday’s execution ordeal.

He supported the Arkansas Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision to stay the executions of Bruce Ward and Don Davis but isn’t sure what to expect with the remaining death row inmates’ fates.

Equally fascinating for Brummett was the U.S. Supreme Court’s late decision to uphold the Arkansas Supreme Court, a move that led to a literal 11th hour reprieve for Davis.

Brummett has written that Judge Wendell Griffen, who participated in an anti-death penalty protest on the same afternoon that he signed an order halting the execution process, overstepped his judicial boundaries. While legally allowed, Brummett said Griffen’s duty as a judge is to project impartiality.

Will he be impeached by the Arkansas Legislature as some are suggesting? Should the stat revisit its death penalty policy?

Watch Brummett’s full take in the video below.