NPR: High Court to Hear Lethal Injection, Voter ID Cases

High Court to Hear Lethal Injection, Voter ID Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to hear cases examining the constitutionality of two prominent issues: lethal injection and voter identification requirements.

The Associated Press reports that the court will hear an appeal from Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr., two Kentucky death-row inmates who sued the state in 2004, claiming lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Baze was scheduled to be executed today, but the Kentucky Supreme Court halted the proceedings earlier this month.

Lethal injections are used in 37 states. Anti-death penalty advocates say the three-drug "cocktail" used in injections can lead to excruciating pain. In Kentucky, an appeals court and the state's Supreme Court have ruled that lethal injection is constitutional. But a judge in Tennessee ruled against lethal injection last week and ordered the state to not to use it. A California judge made a similar ruling last year.

Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman points out at his Sentencing Law and Policy blog that the court's decision to hear the case could mean a moratorium on all lethal injection executions nationwide until a ruling is issued, possibly as late as June 2008.

And in a case that will have implications for the 2008 elections, the Supreme Court also agreed to decide if voter identification laws unfairly dissuade minorities and the poor from voting. The challenge originates from an Indiana law that requires voters to present photo ID at the polls. The state says the law reduces voter fraud.

Along with these two cases, the court agreed to hear 15 others.

2:25 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I am against the death penalty, but as a matter of medical curiosity, I am confused about lethal injections. I was present when my dog was put to sleep and it appeared quite easy, quick, and painless. I have friends who have said the same about their dogs. How come we can make it so simple with animals but not with humans? Or are our pets suffering in ways we don't know about?

Sent by Laurie Hurshman | 9:52 AM ET | 09-26-2007

I think the problem her is that people who are put to death by lethal injection are given medication before the "toxin" is injected that completely paralyzes the victim so that they are unable to express any pain. There was a time magazine issued about this not too far back. It had everything in detail, look it up.

Sent by Yani | 7:57 PM ET | 10-11-2007

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