Article: Court declines to hear case on lethal injection; Supreme Court issues denial without comment

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court's refusal Monday to consider a second lethal-injection case suggests the justices are not ready to decide whether the drugs amount to cruel and unusual punishment, legal experts said.

The denial was issued without comment, leaving court watchers to speculate over justices' reasons for rejecting an appeal by a Tennessee death-row inmate who claims lethal injection is unconstitutional.

"The Supreme Court is plainly not ready to step into the lethal- injection controversy yet," said Eric M. Freedman, a Hofstra University law professor.

"It's kind of a puzzle," said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a victims' rights ...

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