In its unanimous opinion, the [Supreme] court expressed no view on the constitutionality either of lethal injection in general or of the specific procedures and combination of chemicals that a Florida inmate, Clarence E. Hill, and numerous others around the country have recently challenged in federal court.

The justices addressed themselves solely to the procedural route that such lawsuits must take, and chose the route that is by far the more inmate-friendly from the two options that the case presented.

Not that I suspect any of you will ever be on death row, but it might be a good idea to check out this article just in case. Even though you cannot challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty under this case law, you now have the opportunity to challenge procedures deemed inadequately painless.

Personally, I would like to see the Supreme Court tackle the bigger issue here. There have been a lot of problems with the death sentence over the years-like earlier this century, when a black man was sentenced to death for stealing less than $2 from a white woman. If we must use it, we must make sure it is absolutely humane and does not get missapplied. Unfortunately, both inhumane uses and missaplication are still frequent. WITBD?

Prisoners Gain in Suit Attacking Lethal Injection - New York Times