Published since 2005. San Francisco is a city that belongs to the people of the world. Hence this blog has a global focus. The name "Sam Spade's San Francisco" refers to an exciting era in the City's history, the time of Dashiell Hammett's fictional gumshoe and San Francisco character, Sam Spade. My name is Tom Dunn and I edit the blog. I'm not as exciting as Sam Spade, but I am definitely a San Francisco character.Contact or on Twitter -- Search blog below.
Ralph Baze and Thomas K. Bowling brought a civil suit against the State of Kentucky in Franklin Circuit Court, claiming that the lethal injection procedure that the state uses creates an unnecessary risk of pain and suffering and is thus in violation of the Eighth Amendment. After denying the state's motion to dismiss, the trial judge found that the lethal injection procedure was not unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed, holding that the U.S. Supreme Court has never required a completely painless execution. Baze and Bowling argue that Kentucky's lethal injection procedure violates the Eighth Amendment because it creates a "significant and unnecessary risk of pain," in addition to citing poor administrative measures and untrained personnel. Kentucky, however, argues that a method of execution only amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment" if it creates a "substantial risk" of unnecessary pain, and Kentucky's procedure does not meet that threshold.
By granting certiorari in this case, the U. S. Supreme Court has seemingly imposed a "de facto moratorium" on lethal injections across the country. While the outcome of this case is unlikely to outlaw the death penalty on the whole, it may have a profound effect on the kinds of procedures that will be used to carry out future executions.
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