The death penalty is on hold in eight of the 38 states to adopt capital punishment since 1977 as courts and state lawmakers wrestle with fears of executing the innocent, the emerging role of DNA evidence and new assaults on use of lethal injection.
Although the public still favors capital punishment, support has slipped and the number of executions and new death sentences is trending down. A fresh batch of legal obstacles -- including new court scrutiny of the use of lethal injection and of doctors’ role in administering fatal doses – clouds what still is a controversial social issue in the United States.
Currently, death penalty laws in New York and Kansas have been struck down by those states' Supreme Courts. Moratoriums against the death penalty are in place in Illinois and New Jersey. And executions are temporarily suspended in California, Florida, Louisiana and Missouri pending court rulings on challenges against lethal injection.
The outcome of these cases may address several emerging issues concerning lethal injection, including how much pain it causes and what role medical professionals should play in ending the lives of prisoners.
Stateline
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