By Father Frank Pavone, M.E.V. National Director, Priests for Life Even from death row, you can change history and save lives. Two death-sentenced Kentucky prisoners have a grievance which the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear. In the case of Baze v. Rees, the inmates argue that the method of execution most commonly used - that is, lethal injection - violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, at least half of the death row inmates facing an imminent execution in the last two years have filed suit challenging the chemicals used in lethal injections. The fact that the high court has agreed to hear this case has caused many states to halt executions until the decision is rendered sometime in 2008. At issue is not the constitutionality of the death penalty itself, but rather a specific question raised by the type of chemicals used and the method of application. In the 1980s, most of the states that have capital punishment switched over fro...
