SCOTUS Upholds Lethal Injection
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From the Right
Supreme Court Upholds Use of Lethal Injection Drug Implicated in Botched ExecutionsThe Supreme Court upheld the use of a controversial drug in lethal injection executions Monday, as two dissenting justices said for the first time that they think it’s “highly likely” that the death penalty itself is unconstitutional.
The justices voted 5-4 in a case from Oklahoma that the sedative midazolam can be used in executions without violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
From the Center
US Supreme Court backs use of contentious execution drugThe US Supreme Court has upheld the use of a contentious drug used in executions, saying it does not violate a ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The ruling is a setback to opponents of the death penalty, who say midazolam is not suitable for lethal injections.
The drug raised concerns after it was used in executions in three US states in 2014 that took longer than usual.
Executions have been delayed recently in the US amid problems buying drugs as many firms have refused to sell...
From the Left
Supreme Court Liberals: Lethal Injection Decision Would Allow Prisoners To Be 'Burned At The Stake'In a scathing dissent in the Supreme Court ruling on Monday which upheld Oklahoma's use of a lethal injection drug, some of the court's liberal justices suggested that the high court's ruling would allow prisoners to be "drawn and quartered, slowly tortured to death, or actually burned at the stake" by states that wished to put them to death.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Eleana Kagan, wrote that the majority opinion in the 5-4 case left those sentenced to...
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