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Fourth Circuit upholds Virginia's lethal injection protocol

By Douglas A. Berman

If you are in the mood to spend your afternoon reading about lethal injection law and procedure, the Fourth Circuit serves up the goods.  In Emmett v. Johnson, No. 07-18 (4th Cir. July 10, 2008) (available here), a split panel affirms the lethal injection protocol used by the state or Virginia.  Here is how the majority concludes (after 40+ pages of discussion):Virginia's protocol for lethal injection is substantially similar to that approved by the Supreme Court in Kentucky. The lethal injection procedures are supervised by Department officials and the execution is carried out by experienced, well-trained personnel.  And, in the 70 executions previously conducted by Virginia, there have been no reported problems.... Because Emmett has failed to produce evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact that would demonstrate a ?substantial? or ?objectively intolerable? risk of harm during his execution, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to the defendants...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 10, 2008 (boomark / email).