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Supreme Court: Lethal Injection Procedure May Be Challenged Via § 1983
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2006
by John Dannenberg
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2006, page 34
Filed under:
Disciplinary Litigation,
Habeas Corpus,
Death Penalty/Death Row,
Death Penalty.
Location:
Florida.
by John E. Dannenberg
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held that a condemned prisoner's challenge to the procedure used in lethal injection may be brought in 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and need not be brought in habeas corpus. The Court distinguished a challenge to the lawfulness of a sentence …
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More from this issue:
- Taser: The "Less Lethal" Weapon with a Fatal Attraction to Prisoners, by John Dannenberg
- Board of Commissioners Clears PHS In Three Leon County (Florida) Jail Deaths, by John Dannenberg
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Focus on Sex Offenders Increases While Number of Sex Offenses Decline
- Attempted Arrest of Federal Prison Guards in Florida Turns Deadly, by Michael Rigby
- Panel Suggests Using Prisoners in Drug Trials, by Ian Urbina
- PLNs Publication-Ban Suit Against Kansas DOC Set For Trial On Declaratory And Injunctive Relief, by John Dannenberg
- Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $60,000 For Electrical Shock
- Delaware Law: Punishing Prisoners for Reporting Sexual Abuse by Guards, by David Reutter
- Oregon Guard Gets 32 Months For Sex With Prisoner
- Habeas Hints, by Kent A. Russell
- Report on Status of Guantanamo Prisoners Released; Controversy Continues, by Matthew T. Clarke
- California Guard Convicted of Abetting Prison Gang
- Texas Prisoner Gets 40 Years For Cellphone; Guards Get Probation, by Michael Rigby
- Audit Criticizes Management of ODOC Financial Computer System
- Years Long Pattern of Medical Neglect Defeats Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
- Florida DOC Cuts Prisoner Collect Call Costs by 30%, by David Reutter
- Arkansas County Pays $40,000 To Handicapped Man Raped In Jail, by Michael Rigby
- EMSA, Florida County to Pay $500,000 for Untreated Ectopic Pregnancy, by Michael Rigby
- Arkansas Mayor, Sheriff, Wife Jailed for Burglary, Drugs, Sex and More, by Gary Hunter
- Audit Reveals California DOC Employees Illegally Received Holiday Pay for Scheduled Days Off
- $600,000 Settlement for Abuse at Maine Juvenile Prison
- Female Missouri Prisoners Make $291,000 as Sexy Pen Pals, AG Wants His Cut
- Michigan Prisoner Wins $20,000 on Failure to Protect Claim, by Michael Rigby
- Iowa Prisoners Settle Sexual Abuse Lawsuits For $160,000
- District of Columbia Jail Pays $14 Million For Over-Detentions and Strip Searches, by Bob Williams
- Nebraskas County Jails Neglect Mentally Disabled, by Gary Hunter
- Los Angeles County Pays $110,000 for Wrongful Jail Death
- Mumia Abu-Jamal Honored in Paris, France, by Gary Hunter
- Washington Liable for Negligent Parolee Supervision; Bad Jury Instruction Vacates $33 Million Verdic
- Massachusetts Prisoners Battle MRSA, Untreated Hepatitis C, by Michael Rigby
- Texas Jail Suicide Suit Settles For $300,000
- Virginia's General Assembly Sells Out Prisoners' Families for Phone Money, by Gary Hunter
- Supreme Court: Lethal Injection Procedure May Be Challenged Via § 1983, by John Dannenberg
- Maywood, Illinois Jail Settles Failure to Protect Suit For $750,000
- Beaten Texas Prisoner Who Was Denied Safekeeping Awarded $87,500, by Michael Rigby
- WA Youth Detention Officer Awarded $603,500; Remitted Damages Reinstated
- Michigan Prisoners Deliberate Indifference Claim Nets $73,906 In Fees
- New York Prisoner Paid $1.25 Million for Untreated Glaucoma
- $1.35 Million Settlement for Wrongful Death of Illinois Prisoner
- California Parole Board Squelches Life Prisoner Writs on Procedural Grounds
- Florida Gain Time Revocation Clarified
- L.A. County Pays $300,000 for Wrongful Death of Psychiatric Jail Prisoner
- Former Head New York Islamic Prison Chaplain Pleads Guilty in Gun Case
- WA Courts Cannot Extend Supervision Period for Sex Offenses Committed Before 1996
- New Yorks Son of Sam Law Constitutional, Damages Seized
- Floridas Felon Disenfranchisement Law Upheld, by David Reutter
- News in Brief:
- Successor Judge Needs Compelling Reason to Reopen Prior Judges Ruling
- No Qualified Immunity for Arkansas Detainees Miscarriage
More from John Dannenberg:
- Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual, 2d Ed., by Dan Manville, March 5, 2015
- Systemic Changes Follow Murder of Colorado Prison Director, July 10, 2014
- The Redbook – A Manual on Legal Style, April 15, 2014
- Arrest-Proof Yourself, by Dale Carson and Wes Denham, March 15, 2014
- Arrested: What to do When Your Loved One’s in Jail, by Wes Denham, Feb. 15, 2014
- California Parole Board Agrees to Implement Policy to Fix Terms at Lifers’ Initial Hearings, Jan. 15, 2014
- FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry, Dec. 15, 2013
- Federal Court Orders California to Release 9,600 More Prisoners, Aug. 15, 2013
- Valley Fever Declared a Public Health Emergency at Two California Prisons; Court Orders Prisoner Transfers, July 15, 2013
- Plata and Coleman Showdown in California, June 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
- SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
- First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-Without-Parole Sentence to Parole-Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-in-Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.

