Search Results for: lethal injection

“There exists a deep-seated conviction among Americans that the Constitution is an expression of the Higher Law, that it is, in fact, imperfect man’s most perfect rendering of eternal law.” – Presidential scholar Clinton Rossiter Introduction: Following recent Trump-inspired attacks on the United States Capitol, a second impeachment of the President is now under active [...]

“The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” – Cicero, On the Laws Abstract: From the beginning of his sordid presidency, Donald J. Trump has shown willful indifference to the security and justice of the United States, including unwillingness to find relevant fault with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to separate himself from baseless conspiracy [...]

The US Department of Justice quietly amended its execution protocols Friday, dropping the requirement to carry out federal death sentences by lethal injection and clearing the way to use other methods, including firing squads, poison gas, hanging and electrocution. The amended rule, published in the Federal Register, specifically allows the US government to conduct executions [...]

Once President-Elect Biden takes office, we will be able to say goodbye to new judges who self-identify as originalists. This change is important because in constitutional cases, originalism is either pernicious or irrelevant, and we should stop pretending otherwise. There is nothing wrong with the American people celebrating their link to the white, propertied males [...]

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that it will execute two federal inmates, Brandon Bernard and Lisa Montgomery, in December. Montgomery was convicted for her part in a premeditated murder-kidnap scheme where she fatally strangled a pregnant woman named Bobbie Jo Stinnett, cut her open, and then kidnapped her baby. Her lawyers argued [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Thursday that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new lethal injection protocol violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laws. This case arose when Keith Nelson, a prisoner sentenced to death in 2002, sued the government for failing to adhere to the Administrative Procedure [...]

In a 5-4 decision issued on Thursday morning, the US Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that had halted the execution of Wesley Purkey, clearing the way for the second federal execution of the week. Purkey was convicted in federal court and sentenced to death in 2004 for the kidnapping and killing of 16-year-old Jennifer [...]

In a per curiam opinion issued Tuesday at 2 AM, the US Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that had halted the executions of four federal prisoners sentenced to death for killing children. The ruling cleared the way for the federal government to resume federal executions for the first time in 17 years. US Attorney [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday denied Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom’s request for habeas relief and held that a second execution attempt would not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Ohio had previously tried to execute Broom by lethal injection in 2009, but officials were [...]

The US Supreme Court stayed the execution of Texas inmate Ruben Gutierrez Tuesday. The order came only an hour before the execution was scheduled to take place and was granted in response to Gutierrez’s argument that his First Amendment rights were violated by the state’s refusal to grant his request to have a Christian chaplain [...]