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South Carolina Supreme Court says death penalty by firing squad or electrocution is legal
[JustTheNews] Executions are expected to begin again soon, now that the state Supreme Court ruling has come in. There are currently 32 inmates on death row, and no execution has been carried out in South Carolina since 2011. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the death penalty by firing squad or electrocution is not considered cruel and unusual punishment if the death row inmate requests it. The state passed a law that allowed the methods in 2021, after there was a shortage in South Carolina of lethal injection drugs, along with lethal injection. It is now one of five states that allow execution by firing squad, and one of eight to allow electrocution, The Hill reported. The 2021 law was temporarily halted after death row inmates sued the state over the change, but death by electrocution became the default form of execution when the state could not find a reliable source for the lethal injection drugs. "[The 2021 law was a] sincere effort to make the death penalty less inhumane while enabling the state to carry out its laws," Justice John Few wrote in the majority decision. “The inescapable reality that an execution by any method may not go as planned — that it will be ‘botched’ — does not render the method ‘cruel’ under the constitution." Related: Death penalty 07/26/2024 Iran hangs final defendant in 2008 case after 'unfair trial': NGOs Death penalty 07/07/2024 Orange County DA Says Murderers May Receive Death Penalty Death penalty 06/25/2024 Illegal migrants lured Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, under bridge, assaulted her for 2 hours before killing her Related: South Carolina: 2024-07-30 Good Morning South Carolina: 2024-07-30 Violence erupts at South Carolina women's shelter 'after staff unwittingly let transgender woman move in' South Carolina: 2024-07-07 Seven Southern Country Stores with Retro Appeal Posted by: Skidmark 2024-08-01 |
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