MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama is set to execute an inmate who argues his past drug use and cancer have too badly damaged his veins and will make the lethal injection unconstitutionally painful.
Doyle Lee Hamm is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening, convicted in the 1987 killing of motel clerk Patrick Cunningham. Prosecutors said Cunningham was shot once in the head while working an overnight shift in which $410 was taken.
Hamm was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in 2014. His attorney urged the courts to block the execution, citing damage to Hamm's veins from cancer, hepatitis C and former drug use.
The state has indicated it will adjust its injection process by connecting an intravenous line to Hamm's legs or feet — after a medical expert said those veins were accessible.
