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Supreme Court Seems Increasingly Wary on Death Penalty

By Richard Wolf
A view of the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2014. Photo via Lauren Markoe / RNS.
A view of the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2014. Photo via Lauren Markoe / RNS.
Dec 3, 2014
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The Supreme Court — the last stop for condemned prisoners such as Scott Panetti, a Texan who is mentally ill — and whose case was just stayed by an appellate court —  appears increasingly wary of the death penalty.

In May, the justices blocked the execution of a Missouri murderer because his medical condition made it likely that he would suffer from a controversial lethal injection.

Later that month, the court ruled 5-4 that Florida must apply a margin of error to IQ tests, thereby making it harder for states to execute those with borderline intellectual disabilities.

In September, a tipping point on lethal injections was nearly reached when four of the nine justices sought to halt a Missouri prisoner’s execution because of the state’s use of a drug that had resulted in botched executions elsewhere.

And in October, the court stopped the execution of yet another Missouri man over concerns that his lawyers were ineffective and had missed a deadline for an appeal. The justices are deciding whether to hear that case in full.

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A view of the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2014. Photo via Lauren Markoe / RNS.
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