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Supreme Court: Injection Method Not Unconstitutional
In a precedent setting ruling, the Supreme Court decided that the lethal injection method used for executing prisoners in Kentucky does not violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Moratoriums Lifted
Shortly after the ruling, the governor of Virginia lifted the moratorium on executions in the state, and other governors around the country stated their intentions to follow suit.
Last September, executions were put on hold when the high court agreed to hear the case of two inmates on death row in Kentucky. Their case challenged the constitutionality of the lethal injection procedure in the state.
Lethal Drug Cocktail
In Kentucky, as in nearly every state in the U.S., executions are carried out using a cocktail of three drugs. The first drug is an anesthetic. The second paralyzes the lungs and diaphragm and the third stops the heart.
Defense attorneys argued that the drugs could cause the inmate to suffer excruciating pain when administered improperly. The state countered that the ban against cruel and unusual punishment does not demand that risk of pain be avoided.
The majority of justices agreed with the state in a 7-2 ruling. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and David H. Souter offered the dissenting votes.
(Source: Baltimore Sun)
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