11.03.2007

Florida State Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection

Despite the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case Baze v. Rees, the Supreme Court of Florida has upheld the lethal injection death penalty procedure, rejecting the accusation that it is "cruel and unusual punishment". In Baze v. Rees the U.S. Supreme Court will be deciding whether or not lethal injection constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment" under the U.S. Constitution which would mean that the procedure could no longer be used anywhere in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court has already granted a stay for a previously scheduled execution by lethal injection in Mississippi in lieu of their own upcoming decision.

With the new more conservative make up of the court, I have a hard time believing that they will find lethal injection to be cruel and unusual. I would expect a 7-2 decision with only Justices Ginsburg and Souter agreeing that lethal injection is cruel and unusual. In fact, I believe both Justices believe the death penalty in any form is unconstitutional.

In any case, the execution of Mark Dean Schwab is scheduled for November 15 in Florida. The Supreme Court should step in as it did before and stay the execution, I expect they will.

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