2014 Arkansas Code
Title 5 - Criminal Offenses
Subtitle 1 - General Provisions
Chapter 4 - Disposition of Offenders
Subchapter 6 - Trial and Sentence -- Capital Murder
§ 5-4-617 - Method of execution.

(a) The Department of Correction shall carry out the sentence of death by intravenous lethal injection of a barbiturate in an amount sufficient to cause death.

(b) Before the intravenous lethal injection is administered, the condemned prisoner shall be intravenously administered a benzodiazepine.

(c) The drugs set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be administered along with any substances that the manufacturer has mixed with the drugs and any additional substances, such as saline solution, called for in the manufacturer's instructions.

(d) Catheters, sterile intravenous solution, and other equipment used for the intravenous injection of the drugs set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be sterilized and prepared in a manner that is safe and commonly performed in connection with the intravenous administration of drugs of that type.

(e) The Director of the Department of Correction shall develop logistical procedures necessary to carry out the sentence of death, including:

(1) The following matters:

(A) Ensuring that the drugs and substances set forth in subsections (a)-(d) of this section and other necessary supplies for the lethal injection are available for use on the scheduled date of the execution;

(B) Conducting employee orientation of the lethal injection procedure before the day of the execution;

(C) Logistics of the viewing;

(D) Coordinating with other governmental agencies involved with security and law enforcement;

(E) Transferring the condemned prisoner to the facility where the sentence of death will be carried out;

(F) Escorting the condemned prisoner from the holding cell to the execution chamber;

(G) The identity, arrival, and departure of the persons involved with carrying out the sentence of death at the facility where the sentence of death will be carried out; and

(H) Making arrangements for the disposition of the condemned prisoner's body and personal property; and

(2) The following matters pertaining to other logistical issues:

(A) Chaplaincy services;

(B) Visitation privileges;

(C) Determining the condemned prisoner's death, which must be pronounced according to accepted medical standards;

(D) Confirming the type and concentration of the drugs and substances set forth in subsections (a)-(d) of this section when they have been received by the department; and

(E) Establishing a protocol for any necessary mixing or reconstitution of the drugs and substances set forth in subsections (a)-(d) of this section in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

(f) The procedures for carrying out the sentence of death and related matters are not subject to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.

(g) The procedures under subdivision (e)(1) of this section and the implementation of the procedures under subdivision (e)(1) of this section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq.

(h) The department shall carry out the sentence of death by electrocution if this section is invalidated by a final and unappealable court order.