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U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use of Lethal Injection
On April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Kentucky state prisoners Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling were each convicted of double homicides and sentenced to death. Following the affirmance of their convictions …
Kentucky state prisoners Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling were each convicted of double homicides and sentenced to death. Following the affirmance of their convictions …
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More from this issue:
- Use of Questionable “Lie Detectors" by Law Enforcement Expands Nationwide, by Matthew Clarke
- PLN Attorneys Awarded $137,672 for Post-Settlement Work in CDCR Censorship Case, by John Dannenberg
- Canadian Prisoner Recognized for Advocacy on Prisoner Health Issues
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $2.75 Million Verdict in Dehydrated Michigan Prisoner’s Death
- StopMax: The Fight Against Supermax Prisons Heats Up, by Jessica Pupovac
- Ruling Against Expression is No Music to Prisoners’ Ears, by David Hudson
- An Execution in the Family: One Son’s Journey, by Robert Meeropol; St. Martin’s Griffin, 273 pages, $14.95, by David Preston
- Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner Hogtying Death For $900,000
- NIC Report: Wisconsin Jails Racist and Dangerous, by Gary Hunter
- Wyoming American Indian Prisoner Wins Consent Decree to Receive Feathers
- “Habeas Hints”, by Kent A. Russell
- California DOC Settles Sadistic, Hate-Motivated, Three-Year Starvation Death Of Sikh Prisoner For $1 Million, by Marvin Mentor
- New Zealand Prisoners Building Copiers for Canon
- Exonerated Florida Prisoner Receives $2.2 Million; Second Lawsuit Still Pending
- CMS Insurer Must Pay Wyoming Suicide Settlement
- Jury Awards Indiana Prison Law Library Clerk $1,150 for Retaliation
- NCCHC Releases Position Statement on Abuse of Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- California Guards Union Investigated for Hiring Parolee for Office Job
- Prison Population Continues Exponential Growth, by David Reutter
- Alabama Policy Denies Work Release to HIV/AIDS Infected Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Indiana Prisoner Receives $200,000 in Excessive Force Case
- Landmark 1980 California Death Row Federal Consent Decree Partially Terminated Under PLRA, by John Dannenberg
- Indiana DOC Policy Banning Group Worship by Odinists Enjoined, by John Dannenberg
- BOP Agrees to Pay $90,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Costs in Suit Over Constitutionality of Byline Regulation
- Colorado DOC Pays $60,000 Settlement for Suicide of Former Prisoner Who Was Sexually Abused by Guard, by John Dannenberg
- Self-Help Legal Guides, Publisher, Rosemary Steele; 104 pages, Softbound, by David Reutter
- Sexual Abuse and Violence in Texas Prisons Eclipses National Average, by Gary Hunter
- $1.5 Million Settlement Provided to Immigrant Prisoner Who Lost Leg in Colorado Jail, by David Reutter
- $2.75 Million Settlement in New York Prisoner’s Loss of Sight Claim
- New Jersey Fires 52 Prison Guards in 2007, by Gary Hunter
- $4.45 Million Verdict in Meningitis Death of Cook County Jail Prisoner, by David Reutter
- GEO Group Consultant Civilly Charged With Insider Trading
- U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use of Lethal Injection, by Brandon Sample
- Oregon Guards Wrongly Fired Win $1,000,000
- Exonerated Florida Man Receives $1.25 Million
- Helping Ex-Prisoners Find Jobs Has Become Important to the Government, Finally, by Derick Limberg
- Pennsylvania Jail Rebuffs Calls for Independent Review of Abuse Claims
- $290,000 Award for New York Prisoner’s Slip and Fall on Ice
- Strip Search Policy E-mails Were Attorney-Client Communications, but Privilege Is Waived
- Florida Jail Supervisors Investigated in Fraudulent Overtime Scheme
- $25,000 Award To South Carolina Prisoner Injured Performing Community Service
- New Hampshire Prisoner’s ADA Claim Survives Summary Judgment
- Native American Reservations in Dire Need of Better Jails, Get Money to Build More
- Ohio Man Receives $600,000 for Wrongful Imprisonment
- Seventh Circuit: Delayed Medical Care Because Doctor Attended New Year’s Party Constitutes Deliberate Indifference
- South Dakota Guard Liable for Prisoner’s Electrocution Death
- Legal Financial Obligation Deductions Imposed on All Washington Prisoners
- Massachusetts DOC Ordered to Provide Vegan Meals to Buddhist Prisoner
- Tenth Circuit: Procedural Defense to Federal Prisoner’s ETS Suit Fails on Inadequate Grievance Record-Keeping, by John Dannenberg
- Ninth Circuit: Statutory Increase in Restitution Payment Rate Does Not Violate Plea Agreement and is Not Ex Post Facto
- EAJA Permits Recovery of Fees for Paralegal Services at Market Rates, US Supreme Court Holds
- New York Sex Offenders’ Settlement Agreement Superseded by New Registration Law
- Tenth Circuit Follows Jones v. Bock, Reverses Full-Exhaustion Predicate in § 1983 Cases, by John Dannenberg
- Washington Court Invalidates Pretrial Substance Abuse Conditions
- No Filing Fee Lien Allowed in Florida Mandamus Cases
- News in Brief:
- $635,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Woman Prisoner’s Suicide
More from Brandon Sample:
- Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, April 12, 2019
- Guilty Plea Does Not Foreclose Challenge To Constitutionality Of Conviction, U.S. Supreme Court Decides, April 19, 2018
- U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Habeas Relief Citing AEDPA Deference, Dec. 19, 2017
- Maryland Ban on Prisoner's Book Rescinded, Aug. 23, 2016
- Former BOP Guard Convicted In Murder-For-Hire Scheme, Aug. 22, 2016
- Second BOP Guard Convicted In Assault-For-Hire, Aug. 22, 2016
- BOP Dentist Gets Slap On The Wrist for Sex Abuse, Aug. 22, 2016
- Cook County Jail Agrees to Improvements, April 15, 2013
- No More Than 20 Percent Can Be Deducted To Pay Filing Fees, April 15, 2013
- Heck Does Not Apply to Released Prisoner Seeking Damages for Sentence Miscalculation, April 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.
- 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.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, Nov. 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution, Religious Freedom/Worship, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Eleventh Circuit Overturns 1990 Alabama Death Sentence Over Racially Biased Jury Selection; ACLU Report Shows It Is Still Happening, Nov. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Batson Claims, Racial Bias Exception.
- In the Killing Chamber, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Date of Firing Squad Execution Vacated for Utah Prisoner with Dementia, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Mental Health, Federal Death Penalty Act, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.

