U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS KENTUCKY LETHAL INJECTIONS

The United States Supreme Court has upheld the lethal injection method by which Kentucky imposes the death penalty. In Baze v. Rees, the Court considered a challenge to the method by which death was imposed. The Appellants claimed that there was a risk that proper procedures would not be followed and, as a result, unnecessary pain would incurred in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Court rejected this argument and stated that in order to hold a method unconstitutional there must be an "objectively intolerable risk of harm." Given that the injections were administered by trained personnel, with certain levels of experience, the risk of harm was not so great as to justify holding the practice unconstitutional.

Click here to read the Supreme Court's opinion.

Given that the Supreme Court is the last potential appeal for these defendants, it appears that execution is imminent. To learn more about criminal appeals, click here.