Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

A few early questions following Ohio's successful one-drug lethal injection execution

By Douglas A. Berman

As noted here, the state of Ohio today succeeded in completing an execution using a single-drug lethal injection  protocol.  Time will tell if this event proves to be a big turning point or just a blip in the dynamic story of the modern administration of capital punishment in the United States.  But, before we have the benefit of historical hindsight, let me pose a few early post-execution questions: 1.  Does this development prove the death penalty can be effectively improved or that it usually cannot?  In the copious litigation over three-drug lethal injection protocols during the past decade, opponents of this protocol have often suggested the one-drug alternative adopted in Ohio.  The fact that Ohio finally moved to this approach might provide support for the claim that some states are genuinely interested in improving their capital systems...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 08, 2009 (boomark / email).