Why was Joe Nathan James Jr's execution delayed? Alabama death row inmate had sought to die by nitrogen hypoxia

Why was Joe Nathan James Jr's execution delayed? Alabama death row inmate had sought to die by nitrogen hypoxia
Alabama Governor announced that she has decided the state will move forward with the plan of executing Joe Nathan James Jr (Alabama Department of Corrections)

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: Joe Nathan James Jr was sentenced to death for the murder of his 26-year-old ex-girlfriend Faith Hall in Birmingham in 1994. While Hall's family requested to terminate his death sentence, the court did not find that fit. Nathan received a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison after the US Supreme Court denied his request for a stay. His bid for stay was dismissed 30 minutes before his execution. However, his execution was delayed by three hours and the official explanation was never given, up until Friday, July 29.

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The Alabama Department of Corrections explained the delay in Nathan's execution in an e-mailed statement to AP, "The protocol states that if the veins are such that intravenous access cannot be provided, the team will perform a central line procedure. Fortunately, this was not necessary and with adequate time, intravenous access was established." While the statement seemed a bit ambiguous, a prison systems spokesperson confirmed that the delay was due to the time required to establish the IV connection. Previously, Hall’s daughter Terryln Hall urged officials to cancel Joe Nathan's execution, which she revealed in a telephonic interview with AP saying, "I know it may sound crazy. Like, you want this man to live? But ... I just feel like we can't play God. We can't take a life. And it's not going to bring my mom back."