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June 30, 2015

Death Row Prisoners Lose Challenge to Execution Drug Midazolam 
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The Supreme Court has also rejected a challenge to the use of a
controversial sedative in executions. Three Oklahoma prisoners had
sought a ban on midazolam, which has been tied to several botched or
prolonged lethal injections. But a five-to-four majority rejected the
inmates' claim that the drug violates a ban on cruel and unusual
punishment. In a dissent, Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader
Ginsburg suggested they're prepared to deem the death penalty
unconstitutional.

 

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