Supreme Court to take up execution case
For those following the debate over the death penalty and lethal injection, including the latest twist in North Carolina, the Supreme Court of the United States is about to weigh in. From Stateline.org:
Nine minutes after a lethal dose of drugs was shot into his arms, Texas murderer Michael Richard last night (Sept. 25) became the 929th death-row inmate in the United States to be executed by lethal injection since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977.The three-drug mixture used to stop Richard's breathing and then his heart is the same chemical cocktail the U.S. Supreme Court — just hours before — agreed to scrutinize in a case that challenges the way 37 states put inmates to death.
The case was brought by two Kentucky prisoners, who argue that the state's drug regimen exposes inmates to illegal cruel and unusual punishment. The appeal doesn't seek to throw out lethal injection as a form of capital punishment but seeks changes in how it's administered and reviewed in the courts.
By agreeing to hear arguments, the high court raised hopes among death-penalty opponents that an immediate, nationwide moratorium on use of lethal injections would result — at least until the justices issue an opinion in the case, Baze v. Rees, sometime next year.
Click here to read the whole story. You can read the petition to the court on behalf of the men here.
Obviously, there are ramifications for North Carolina here. One could well imagine the pending decision being used as an argument for continuing what has been a de facto moratorium here in North Carolina, at least until the justices hand down a decision.
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