Tennessee Supreme Court hears lethal injection arguments

Registration will allow you to post comments on StamfordAdvocate.com and create a StamfordAdvocate.com Subscriber Portal account for you to manage subscriptions and email preferences. Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, second from right, speaks as the court hears arguments regarding the state's use of a three-drug cocktail for executions Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.

Trial challenging Tennessee lethal injection method wraps up

Attorneys for the state and lawyers representing 33 death row inmates Tuesday concluded a nearly two-week trial challenging Tennessee's new lethal injection procedure, and plenty is at stake with Tennessee's first execution since 2009 still scheduled for Aug. 9. During closing arguments Tuesday, federal public defender Kelley Henry said the three-drug method amounts to torturous and unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. She said the state hasn't acted in good faith to try to find its previous lethal injection drug, pentobarbital.

Judge rejects claims execution drug will cause great pain

In this undated file photo released by the Georgia Department of Corrections, J.W. Ledford Jr., poses for a photo. Lawyers for Ledford, a Georgia death row inmate argue the state's lethal injection drug will cause him unconstitutional suffering and that execution by firing squad is the only appropriate alternative.

Court considers constitutionality of Ohio execution process

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday over the constitutionality of Ohio's lethal injection process as the state tries to start carrying out executions once again. At issue is whether a contested sedative, midazolam, is powerful enough to put inmates into a deep state of unconsciousness before two subsequent drugs paralyze them and stop their hearts.

Federal court to consider constitutionality of Ohio death penalty

In this November 2005 file photo, Larry Greene, public information director of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, demonstrates how a curtain is pulled between the death chamber and witness room at an Ohio prison. COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday over the constitutionality of Ohio's lethal injection process as the state tries to start carrying out executions once again.