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GUEST: Patrick Delahanty, Chair of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection executions. Called into question is the three-drug method used by many states to carry out the death penalty and the 8th amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Central to the debate is the Baze vs Rees case brought on by two Kentucky inmates who claim that the state’s lethal injection executions are unlawful. As the Supreme Court weighs both sides, the case has effectively created a moratorium on such executions nationwide. Critics of the method contend that the three drugs, which are supposed to anesthetize, paralyze, and ultimately kill death row inmates, are not always administered successfully and can cause excruciating pain. Supreme Court Justices are reportedly split on the issue along partisan lines. Baze vs Rees is the first case to challenge the constitutionality of a capital punishment method since 1878 and is the latest flashpoint in the death penalty debate.

For more information, visit www.kcadp.org.

In the next few days, the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ) will begin a four month study of the fair administration of the death penalty in California with public hearings across the state. There will be a public hearing in Los Angeles on February 20th at a location to be determined. For more information, visit the California based organization, Death Penalty Focus, at www.deathpenalty.org.