Deborah Denno quoted in an Agence France-Presse story appearing on Yahoo News about the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of the methods states use to execute criminals in Glossip v. Gross, as well as the larger challenges correctional departments are having in obtaining lethal injection drugs in light of a global boycott and increasing public scrutiny of capital punishment.
But “the court always has the opportunity to get broader if they want to,” said Deborah Denno, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law.
“If they want to make a broader statement about lethal injection, they can use this case as a vehicle for doing that,” Denno said.
Should the Supreme Court rule against it, Oklahoma already has a backup for executions, as it has approved death by nitrogen gas.
Denno noted that it was unusual for the court to consider a second lethal injection case in seven years.
“It doesn’t help the death penalty that the court is looking at this case,” she said. “The court thinks there’s some problems there.”
Read the entire Agence France-Presse article.