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Article: Justices decline lethal injection case: Supreme Court won't hear direct challenge to constitutionality of method
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- May 23, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON - 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 group in ...