Baze v. Rees
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Baze v. Rees | ||||||
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| Argued January 7, 2008 Decided April 16, 2008 |
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| Full case name |
Ralph Baze and Thomas C. Bowling v. John D. Rees
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| Docket nos. | 07-5439 | |||||
| Citations | 553 U.S. ___; 2008 WL 1733259 | |||||
| Prior history | Writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Kentucky | |||||
| Argument | Oral argument | |||||
| Holding | ||||||
| Lethal injection is constitutional under the Eighth Amendment. | ||||||
| Court membership | ||||||
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| Case opinions | ||||||
| Plurality | Roberts, joined by Kennedy and Alito | |||||
| Concurrence | Alito | |||||
| Concurrence | Stevens | |||||
| Concurrence | Thomas, joined by Scalia | |||||
| Concurrence | Breyer | |||||
| Dissent | Ginsburg, joined by Souter | |||||
| Laws applied | ||||||
| U.S. Const. amends. VIII | ||||||
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. ___ (2008), is a United States Supreme Court case. The court agreed to hear the appeal of two men, Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling, who were sentenced to death in Kentucky. The men argue that executing them by lethal injection would violate the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Under court precedent, lethal injection must not inflict "unnecessary pain". The men's attorneys argue that the chemicals used to kill them carried an unnecessary risk of inflicting pain during the process. The specific "cocktail" used for lethal injections in Kentucky is the same that virtually all states use for lethal injection, so this case has nationwide implications. An effective moratorium on executions in the United States had taken place since certiorari was granted in this case. [1]
The Court heard oral arguments on January 7, 2008. On April 16, the Court rejected the challenge thereby upholding Kentucky's method of lethal injection by a vote of 7-2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented.[2]
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[edit] Bibliography
- Linda Greenhouse. "Justices to Enter the Debate Over Lethal Injection". New York Times, September 26, 2007.
- "Supreme Court clears way for executions to resume" Reuters, April 16th, 2008.
[edit] See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 553
- Participation of medical professionals in American executions
[edit] References
- ^ Lethal injection moratorium inches closer
- ^ Bill Mears. High court upholds lethal injection method, CNN April 16. 2008.
[edit] External links
- Written Opinion
- Baze v. Rees on ScotusWiki
- audio recording of the arguments from Oyez.org
