LETHAL INJECTIONS: Hearings in California and Missouri Delayed by Federal Courts

Two of the lead­ing cas­es chal­leng­ing the lethal injec­tion process as a civ­il rights vio­la­tion were sig­nif­i­cant­ly delayed to allow the par­ties more time to gath­er infor­ma­tion. In California, the fed­er­al District Court over­see­ing the case of Michael Morales post­poned the sched­uled May 2 hear­ing until September 19, 2006. In Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit grant­ed a 60-day exten­sion for dis­cov­ery and a hear­ing in the case of Michael Taylor. Both inmates had come with­in hours of exe­cu­tion ear­li­er this year. (Morales v. Woodford, U.S. District Court for San Jose, CA, Order stat­ing stip­u­la­tion of the par­ties to increased time, April 27, 2006; Taylor v. Crawford, U.S. Ct. of Appeals, 8^th Cir., April 27, 2006 (per curi­am opin­ion remand­ing the case for a hear­ing in District Court with­in 60 days).