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Did the Supreme Court's work in Baze matter at all?

By Douglas A. Berman

The DPIC has this recent item discussing the details of the 20 executions in months since the Supreme Court "resolved" the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols through its decision in Baze v. Rees.  When I look at the data, I find it remarkable not only that we have returned to four or five executions each month all in traditional death penalty states, but also that we have not seen any post-Baze increase in executions even though the Baze case led to a halt of all executions for over six months. It seems that, even when the Supreme Court stirs up the pot, the modern dynamics and pacing of execution realities are hard to disrupt significantly.  Some related recent posts: A month after Baze, has anything really changed? Three months after Baze, has anything really changed? Do special procedures help preserve the US death penalty? Three more uneventful(?) lethal injections, including one with a political spin Waiting and waiting and waiting on the rowcontinue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 02, 2008 (boomark / email).