Judicial Update: Supreme Court to hear lethal injection challenge

On Sept. 26, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by two Kentucky death row inmates, who claim that lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and is therefore unconstitutional under the 8th amendment.

Current challenges to lethal injection have effectively stopped executions in a growing number of states, including California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

37 of the 38 death penalty states all use lethal injection (except Nebraska, which still uses the electric chair).

According to the New York Times, "Lethal injection was adopted in the 1980s as a more palatable alternative to electrocution, but it has proven increasingly troublesome. Leading medical organizations have told their members not to participate, and lawyers for death-row inmates have produced evidence showing that in the absence of expert medical attention, there is a substantial risk of error in administering the combination of anesthesia and paralyzing drugs necessary to bring about a quick and painless death."

The Times also reports, "The Supreme Court case will be argued in January or February and decided by early next summer. While it is pending, judges around the country are certain to be asked to bar executions in those states that are not already under an official or de facto moratorium."

Read the Sept. 26 piece, "Justices to Enter the Debate Over Lethal Injection," for more and continue to check this site for updates.