All articles tagged with #eighth amendment
A Davidson County judge ordered Tennessee to preserve all evidence from the failed execution of Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital on September 30. Pike’s attorneys accuse the state of secrecy and are seeking to remove her shackles, while Governor Bill Lee maintains that jury-imposed death sentences must be carried out despite the botched procedure.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on December 1 regarding Jouppi v. Alaska, a case testing the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause. The case involves the seizure of an 82-year-old pilot's $95,000 aircraft after he was convicted of a misdemeanor for transporting a six-pack of beer into a dry village. Legal experts argue the forfeiture is grossly disproportionate to the minor offense and the minimal sentence actually imposed.
A federal judge has ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to air-condition all state prisons by December 31, 2029, a plan expected to cost about $1.5 billion. With only roughly one-third of facilities cooled, Judge Robert Pitman ruled that uncooled prison conditions violate the Eighth Amendment and mandated an actionable plan, plus semiannual progress reports (the first due March 22, 2027). The state has proposed funding for direct cooling and climate-controlled expansion, but budget constraints and political hurdles raise questions about timely completion, as inmate advocates highlight heat-related injuries and deaths in recent years.
The Supreme Court refused to lift an injunction blocking Alabama from executing Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas, effectively delaying what would have been the nation’s ninth nitrogen-hypoxia execution. In a 6-3 decision issued without a stated rationale, three conservative justices would have allowed the execution to proceed. Alabama had planned to carry out the sentence after a jury originally voted for life; the case underscores ongoing disputes over whether nitrogen hypoxia constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
A federal judge permanently blocked Alabama from executing death-row inmate Jeffrey Lee by nitrogen hypoxia, ruling the method violates the Eighth Amendment and subjects inmates to severe distress and suffocation risk for minutes. The ruling overturns a prior decision, allows a potential firing-squad alternative, and sets the stage for appeals and possible Supreme Court review with broader implications for nitrogen gas executions in other states.
A federal judge ruled that Alabama's nitrogen-hypoxia executions do not violate the Eighth Amendment, finding that while the method can cause severe air hunger for 1–3 minutes, it does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The decision allows Alabama to continue using nitrogen gas, with the next scheduled execution on June 11, and an appeal from Lee anticipated.
Brian Dorsey, facing execution for a 2006 double murder, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court citing rehabilitation and the Eighth Amendment. His legal team argues that executing a rehabilitated individual would violate the Eighth Amendment. Despite pleas for clemency from Department of Corrections staff and his former coach, Dorsey is scheduled to be executed on April 9.
The U.S. Supreme Court and a federal appeals court have both declined to intervene in Alabama's plans to execute Kenneth Smith using nitrogen gas, making it the nation's first nitrogen gas execution. Smith's lawyers argued that the method would violate his Eighth Amendment rights, but the courts did not provide an explanation for their decisions. Alabama's previous attempt to execute Smith by lethal injection was botched, and his lawyers fear that the new nitrogen gas protocol may cause him severe suffering. The execution is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility.
Alabama has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the first-ever execution in the United States using nitrogen gas after a federal appeals court ruled that the method does not violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Kenneth Eugene Smith is set to be executed via nitrogen hypoxia, with concerns raised about the untested method's potential impact on human dignity. The decision comes after a series of legal challenges and concerns about the protocol for the execution.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could significantly impact homelessness policy in the US, specifically regarding tent encampments. The case challenges a city's laws and customs that allegedly punished homeless individuals for being involuntarily homeless. The Court's decision, expected later this year, will determine whether it's a violation of the Eighth Amendment to fine or arrest people experiencing homelessness. The outcome could shape how cities respond to tent encampments and have implications for sending homeless people involuntarily to substance use or psychiatric treatment programs.
Alabama has resumed the use of the death penalty with the execution of James Barber, following three botched killings last year. Barber was pronounced dead after receiving a lethal injection, despite a dissenting opinion from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson who argued that the state should not be allowed to experiment with human life. Last year, Alabama faced issues with executions by lethal injection, leading to an internal review. Barber sought to avoid his execution by opting for nitrogen hypoxia, a method the state is not yet ready to use. Barber, who murdered a woman with a hammer in 2001, expressed forgiveness towards the Epps family and the governor of Alabama before his execution.
Alabama plans to execute death row inmate James Barber despite his claim that lethal injection could result in cruel and unusual punishment. Barber argued for an alternative execution method, nitrogen hypoxia, but the state has yet to finalize its protocols. The federal appeals court upheld the decision not to halt his execution, citing the Department of Corrections' newly-implemented changes to address issues with the lethal injection protocol. Barber's attorneys argued that his elevated body mass index makes it difficult to access his veins, increasing the risk of a failed lethal injection.
The US Supreme Court has rejected Alabama's request to execute a death row inmate by lethal injection, upholding a lower court ruling that his preference for lethal gas is a viable alternative method. Kenneth Smith, sentenced to death for murdering Elizabeth Sennett in 1988, objected to being executed by lethal injection because of the pain it would cause. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Smith in November, saying that because the state has approved use of lethal gas, Smith could seek an alternative method of execution.