Resources
Justices Uphold Lethal Injection Procedure
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/17/ST2008041700121.html
Justices Uphold Lethal Injection in Kentucky Case
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/washington/17scotus.html?ref=us
Baze v. Rees (2008)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-5439.ZS.html
Discussion Questions
- What type of capital punishment was at issue in Baze v. Rees?
Lethal injection
- How did the Court rule?
The Court upheld Kentucky’s use of lethal injection, ruling that it did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
- What was the Court’s reasoning?
The Court held that the chance an execution method could cause pain was not enough to prove that it was cruel and unusual punishment. In order to violate the Eighth Amendment, a state’s method must create “a demonstrated risk of severe pain.” Further, challengers must show that “feasible” and “readily implemented” alternative methods exist that would “significantly” reduce that risk of severe pain.
- Why is the Court’s decision referred to as a “plurality” in this case? What may the divided nature of the opinion mean for future legal challenges to execution methods?
The Justices votes 7-2 to uphold Kentucky’s execution method, but no single opinion had a majority of votes. Justices Kennedy and Alito joined Chief Justice Roberts’s opinion finding the method constitutional, while Justices Thomas and Scalia came to the same conclusion about constitutionality but for different reasons. This is called a concurring opinion. Justices Stevens and Breyer each wrote separate concurrences, and finally, Justices Ginsburg and Souter dissented. The fact that the Justices could not agree on a test to determine whether a method of execution violates the Eighth Amendment may make it easier for individuals to challenge execution methods in the future. Justice Alito wrote a separate opinion suggesting that Roberts’s opinion would be open to “misinterpretation” by those who might see it as an invitation to “litigation gridlock.”
- Do you agree with the Supreme Court that lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment? Explain.
Answers will vary.
Extensions
A. Have students conduct a large group discussion on the following issue:
Thirty-five states and the federal government impose the death penalty. The Court’s ruling on lethal injection does not require states to use the death penalty; it states that lethal injection is not unconstitutional and therefore states may use it if they chose.
- How do these facts reflect the constitution’s principle of federalism?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of varying approaches to the death penalty in the US?
B. Have students research past death penalty challenges and their outcomes. Students can begin their research at http://www.citizenbee.org/user/Index.aspx.
