Chief
04-16-2008, 09:58 AM
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/
In a widely splintered decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for death-row executions to resume across the country, concluding that the most common method of lethal injection does not violate the Constitution. The final vote was 7-2 in Baze v. Rees (07-5439), although there was no opinion that spoke for five or more Justices. The Court’s plurality adopted as a standard for assessing the validity of an execution method whether it poses a “substantial risk of serious harm.” It rejected the death row inmate’s proposal that the standard be “unnecessary risk.”
Three Justices definitely supported the new standard, but four disagreed with it, in whole or in part. One Justice was silent on the point, and the other said the key issue was not one standard or another, but “facts and evidence” about a given state’s execution method. The case was decided with seven opinions — only two Justices failed to write on their own.
Link to background documents on Baze v. Rees:
http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=Baze_v._Rees
This is a complex case and ruling, and I urge you to go read up on this...
In a widely splintered decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for death-row executions to resume across the country, concluding that the most common method of lethal injection does not violate the Constitution. The final vote was 7-2 in Baze v. Rees (07-5439), although there was no opinion that spoke for five or more Justices. The Court’s plurality adopted as a standard for assessing the validity of an execution method whether it poses a “substantial risk of serious harm.” It rejected the death row inmate’s proposal that the standard be “unnecessary risk.”
Three Justices definitely supported the new standard, but four disagreed with it, in whole or in part. One Justice was silent on the point, and the other said the key issue was not one standard or another, but “facts and evidence” about a given state’s execution method. The case was decided with seven opinions — only two Justices failed to write on their own.
Link to background documents on Baze v. Rees:
http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=Baze_v._Rees
This is a complex case and ruling, and I urge you to go read up on this...