Law and International Law: Baze VS. Rees Case Study
Lethal injection was invented in 1977 by Oklahoma chief medical examiner Jay Chapman, and has remained the most common mode of execution since then. Of 1,238 executions conducted since 1976, 1,064 have been made by injection of lethal drugs. However, despite the widespread of this execution mode, many experts argue its inhumanity. According to the study of Koniaris et al, some dying prisoners are aware when their lungs and heart stop, but are unable to signal their condition due to being paralyzed. These findings raise doubts about the future feasibility of using lethal injection.
On 7 January, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court was hearing arguments in Baze v. Rees case. The case challenged the injection administered by the federal government and 36 states because it violated the Eighth Amendment, and was thus unconstitutional. The case claimed that convicted who were administered a lethal injection felt pain and suffering, but could not report them because of paralysis.
The case Baze v. Rees and similar ones are considered to be important for reexamining lethal injection protocols in the United States. Although the Supreme Court will not challenge the legality of death penalty, it will evidently reconsider the existing standards to assess the effect of the lethal injection procedure. Baze v. Reeds and other cases have demonstrated the absence of a universal and adequate standard of determining the effects of the lethal injection procedure, which is likely to lead to new trials.
Works Cited
Emma Marris, Death-Row Drug Dilemma, International Weekly Journal of Science, 27 January 2011
Leonidas G. Koniaris, Teresa A. Zimmers, David A. Lubarsky, and Jonathan P. Sheldon, Inadequate Anaesthesia in Lethal Injection for Execution. Lancet, 2005, Vol. 365, No 9468, pp. …
