Liberal Supreme Court justices blast colleagues for allowing Alabama execution

Liberal justices on the Supreme Court on Friday criticized their conservative-leaning colleagues for allowing the execution of an inmate in Alabama, arguing the state has a history of botching lethal injections. 

The court ruled 6-3 late Thursday night  in the case of murder James Barber, who was executed early Friday morning. 

"This court’s decision denying Barber’s request for a stay allows Alabama to experiment again with a human life," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

 Barber had been serving a prison sentence for the murder of an elderly woman 22 years ago.

Before his death, Barber argued that under the Eighth Amendment, he has the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

This argument raised concerns about the state's history with botched lethal injections, which in the past have been called off due to not being able to find a sustainable vein, according to NBC News. 

Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall said justice had been served after Barber's death. 

"This morning, James Barber was put to death for the terrible crime he committed over two decades ago: the especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel murder of Dorothy Epps," he said.