IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JASON McGEHEE, STACEY
JOHNSON,
BRUCE WARD, TERRICK NOONER,
JACK JONES, MARCEL WILLIAMS,
KENNETH WILLIAMS, DON DAVIS,
and LEDELL LEE,

Plaintiffs,

4:17-CV-179-KGB-BD

Emergency Motion for Preservation
of Evidence Related to Botched
Execution of Kenneth Williams

v.
ASA HUTCHINSON, Governor of the
State of Arkansas, in his official
Capacity, and WENDY KELLEY,
Director, Arkansas Department of
Correction, in her official capacity,

Defendants.

Media accounts of the execution of plaintiff Kenneth Williams on April 27,
2017, describe him as manifesting signs of vigorous consciousness such as
lurching, jerking, convulsing, and coughing during the course of the execution,
well past the time when the sedating effects of the first execution drug,
Midazolam, should have taken hold. See “Associated Press timeline of Kenneth
Williams execution,” Arkansas Online Gallery, April 27, 2017, at
http://www.arkansasonline.com/galleries/22964/album/#8. Similarly, accounts of
the execution of plaintiff Marcel Williams on April 24, 2017, describe him as
continuing, well after the Midazolam was administered, to arch his back and open

 his eyes until only minutes before death was pronounced. See Liz Burke,
“Journalist Describes Marcel Williams Execution,” April 26, 2017, at
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/journalist-describes-watchingmarcel-williams-arkansas-execution/newsstory/71fa9d589eb0398c3c41cdacfd489335.; declaration of Jamie Giani, Exhibit
1.
On the basis of these indications that the Arkansas execution protocol did
not prevent an execution by torture, counsel for plaintiffs in McGehee v.
Hutchinson respectfully ask this Court to issue an order directing staff at the
Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s Office, and anyone acting on their behalf or on
behalf of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, to immediately preserve all
physical evidence related to the body of Kenneth Williams. Specifically, the
Medical Examiner should be directed to make an immediate draw of blood from
the following locations on the body of Kenneth Williams, and should be directed to
do so before 8:00 p.m. April 28, 2017:
Left and right femoral veins
Left and right subclavian veins
Left and right ventricles (heart)
The Coroner should also be directed to preserve tissues from the brain, liver,
and muscle from a location other than from the leg or arm where the IV was set.

 This emergency motion is not meant to encompass all preservation requests
that should be made; it should supplement the Medical Examiner's normal
practice. Plaintiffs may need to supplement this request at a later time.
Because time is of the essence of this motion the movant’s ask that this
Court foreshorten the response time of the Defendants and rule on this motion with
haste.
Respectfully submitted this 28th day of April, 2017.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Jeff Rosenzweig__________________
Jeff Rosenzweig, ABN 77115
·jrosenzweig@att.net
300 Spring St., Ste. 310
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 372-5247

Counsel for Stacey Johnson,
Jack Jones and Kenneth Williams
/s/ Lee Short_______
Lee Short, ABN 2010136
Short Law Firm
leedshort@gmail.com
425 W. Broadway St. A
North Little Rock, AR 72114
(501) 766-2207
Counsel for Ledell Lee

/s/ John C. Williams__________
Scott W. Braden, ABN 2007123
John C. Williams, ABN 2013233
Federal Public Defender Office
scott_braden@fd.org
john_c_ williams@fd.org
1401 W. Capitol Ave., Ste. 490
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 324-6114
Counsel for Don Davis, Jason McGehee,
Terrick Nooner, Bruce Ward,
and Marcel Williams

 Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that on April 28, 2017, I electronically filed the foregoing
Emergency Motion for Preservation of Evidence with the Clerk’s Office by using
the CM/ECF system. I certify that all participants in the case are registered
CM/ECF users and that service will be accomplished by the CM/ECF system.
/s/ Scott W. Braden
Scott W. Braden