- Lawyers for South Carolina death row inmates argue that the use of the electric chair and firing squad as execution methods are cruel and unusual punishments, and that a 2023 law keeping details of lethal injections secret is problematic.
- South Carolina has not performed an execution in nearly 13 years due to a lack of available drugs, with companies refusing to sell them unless their identities were concealed.
- The state’s position is that all three execution methods allowed in South Carolina fit existing protocols, and if the Supreme Court allows executions to resume, the state’s death row, unused since 2011, could become active again.
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Lawyers representing a group of death row inmates in South Carolina are expected to argue to the state’s Supreme Court that the use of the electric chair and firing squad as methods of execution are cruel and unusual punishments. The attorneys also plan to argue that a 2023 law intended to restart lethal injections keeps too many details about the new drug and protocol secret. This case could have implications for the death sentences of 33 inmates on death row in South Carolina.
South Carolina has not performed an execution in nearly 13 years due to a lack of available drugs for lethal injection. The state faced difficulties in obtaining the drugs after companies refused to sell them unless their identities were hidden from the public. In response to a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs, other states have added alternative execution methods to their protocols, such as nitrogen hypoxia. However, South Carolina has not proposed adding nitrogen gas as an execution method.
South Carolina argues that all three execution methods allowed in the state fit existing protocols. The state’s position is that courts have never required executions to be instantaneous or painless. If the Supreme Court allows executions to resume and subsequent appeals are unsuccessful, the state’s death row, which has been unused since 2011, could become active again.
Four inmates are currently suing, but four more have also exhausted their appeals, with two of them awaiting a competency hearing before potential execution. South Carolina asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a lower court ruling that deemed the electric chair and firing squad as cruel and unusual punishments. The court will also consider questions related to a shield law from last year in Tuesday’s arguments.
Attorneys for the inmates argue that South Carolina’s shield law is more secretive than any other state, as it allows prison officials to conceal the identities of drug companies, individuals involved in an execution, and the exact procedure used. The inmates are particularly concerned about the secrecy surrounding the sedative pentobarbital, which has a shelf life of around 45 days and can cause suffering if not administered properly.
Previously, South Carolina used to carry out an average of three executions per year, but the number has since decreased due to successful appeals and deaths. Prosecutors have been more willing to accept guilty pleas and life sentences without parole, given the rising costs and challenges associated with carrying out executions.