In a case with broad nation­al impli­ca­tions, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to con­sid­er the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of lethal injec­tions as prac­ticed in Kentucky. The Justices will hear a chal­lenge filed by two Kentucky death row inmates, Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling, Jr. The two men sued Kentucky in 2004 claim­ing that the state’s lethal injec­tion process amounts to cru­el and unusu­al pun­ish­ment, not­ing that the pro­ce­dure can inflict unnec­es­sary pain and suf­fer­ing on the inmate. Prior to today’s deci­sion, the U.S. Supreme Court has nev­er ruled whether the mix of drugs used in lethal injec­tions vio­lates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cru­el and unusu­al pun­ish­ment. In a pre­vi­ous rul­ing, the Court had made it eas­i­er for death row inmates to con­test the lethal injec­tion process used across the nation. The case is No. 07 – 5439, Baze et al. v. Rees et al. The Court has ordered that final briefs be filed by Dec. 28, 2007.

(Associated Press, September 25, 2007). See Lethal Injections and U.S. Supreme Court. Read Baze’s peti­tion for certiorari.

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