Updated 12:59 p.m. ET
A closely divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that a death row inmate with a rare medical condition is not entitled to an alternative method of execution just because the one the state uses could cause him several minutes of great pain and suffering.
In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Missouri death row inmate, Russell Bucklew, who had asked the state to use a different method of executing him. Bucklew said that because of his medical condition, using lethal injection could cause him “cruel and unusual punishment,” which is barred by the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.
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