A federal judge on Saturday blocked Arkansas from carrying out seven executions by the end of April.
Beginning on Monday, the state planned to begin a series of executions before the expiration of its supply of midazolam, a surgical sedative.
“The court finds that plaintiffs are entitled to a preliminary injunction based on their method of execution claim under the Eighth Amendment,” Federal District Judge Kristine Baker wrote in a preliminary injunction requested by the inmates, blocking the executions.
Arkansas had originally planned to execute eight inmates, but two were granted a stay in the past two weeks. Midazolam is a controversial drug that masks the effects of the lungs and heart stopping. It has been the subject of lengthy and flawed executions in other states such as Alabama, Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma.
If carried out, the seven executions would be the most carried out by a state in such a short period of time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
