Supreme Court Expands Right to Challenge Lethal Injection Procedure
The Supreme Court today paved the way for more death row inmates to challenge execution by lethal injection.
In an unanimous decision, the court allowed those condemned to die to make last-minute claims that the chemicals used are too painful _ and therefore amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Constitution's Eighth Amendment.
Via ScotusBlog:
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that death row inmates seeking to challenge the lethal injection method of execution may pursue the issue as a civil rights claim, a broader option than federal habeas. The ruling came in Hill v. McDonough (05-8794). While not ruling itself on the constitutionality of that execution procedure, the Court said that inmates who contend that the three-drug protocol most commonly used causes unnecessary pain and suffering may go forward with an Eighth Amendment claim under the 1867 civil rights statute, so-called Section 1983.
In another decision, House v. Bell, the court opened the door to more actual innocence claims. Gina Holland of the AP reports (link above):
Justices, in a separate 5-3 ruling, also made it easier for death row inmates to challenge their convictions with new evidence. The court said Tennessee death-row inmate Paul Gregory House can use DNA evidence to try to get his conviction overturned in the 1985 murder of a neighbor.
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