N.C. court to rule on executions

The state's highest court will hear legal arguments today that could break the two-year stalemate on executions in North Carolina -- or extend the de facto moratorium.

The N.C. Medical Board has effectively shut down the executions, which are done by lethal injection, by prohibiting doctors from taking part. The board contends such participation violates the profession's mission to preserve life.

But state law requires a doctor to be on hand, and botched injections in other states in recent years have emphasized that need.

The state Department of Correction filed suit in March 2007, after doctors said they could not risk their licenses by participating. State Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens sided with correction officials, prompting the medical board to appeal.

Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office, which is representing the Department of Correction, said the N.C. Supreme Court could settle the matter. She said there is no federal question for U.S. courts to pursue.

She declined further comment, as did Keith Acree, a correction spokesman, and Jean Fisher Brinkley, a medical board spokeswoman.

There are 163 inmates on death row. The last execution took place Aug. 18, 2006, when Samuel Flippin, 36, was put to death for killing his 2-year-old stepdaughter.

The court is not expected to issue a ruling today.

If the court rules that the medical board cannot bar doctors from taking part in executions, lawyers representing death row inmates have another legal avenue to pursue. They have challenged a Council of State decision setting up the execution procedure because the statewide elected officials did not allow for comment from the lawyers.

An administrative law judge agreed with the attorneys, but the case has been appealed to state Superior Court. Stephens held a hearing last month on the issue but has not decided the case.