Alabama seeks execution dates for 3 inmates

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The state of Alabama is seeking execution dates for three death row inmates after carrying out its first lethal injection in more than two years.

The attorney general’s office asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set execution dates for Robert Melson, Vernon Madison and Robert Bert Smith.

Smith was convicted of the 1995 murder of a Huntsville convenience store clerk. Melson was convicted in the 1994 shooting death of three Gadsden fast food workers Madison was convicted of killing a Mobile police officer in 1985.

The state said all three men have exhausted their appeals in crimes committed decades ago. Lawyers for the men indicated in court filings they will oppose the setting of execution dates.

Alabama executed Christopher Brooks in January. It was the state’s first execution since 2013.