Council of State must review change in state law for role of doctors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH

The odd state of capital punishment in North Carolina continued yesterday, with a clemency hearing going as planned for a man whose execution was one of three blocked last week by a judge.

The N.C. Department of Correction has even stopped scheduling executions until state leaders deal with a judge’s order requiring them to approve changes in the execution process. The procedure was recently modified to limit the role of physicians because of ethical concerns.

Also yesterday, attorneys for Archie Billings, sentenced to death for a 1995 murder in Caswell County, filed a complaint in Wake Superior Court asking that his execution be stayed until the issue is resolved.

The N.C. Attorney General’s Office has given the corrections department clearance to set execution dates for Billings and Allen Holman, who was sentenced to die for a 1998 murder in Wake County. The department doesn’t plan to do that until the role of doctors is clarified, said Keith Acree, a spokesman for the corrections department. (more…)