Opinion of the Court
Kentucky’s lethal injection method of capital punishment is not cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the U.S. Constitution
Baze v. Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections — This case was granted certiorari on September 25, 2007, and was affirmed on April 16, 2008. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that Kentucky’s lethal injection method of capital punishment is not “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. Featured in Lethal Injections, Sup. Ct. Debates (Mar. 2008). The following is excerpted from the summary of the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions: To constitute cruel and unusual punishment, an executionmethod must present a “substantial or “objectively intolerable…
