Florida Supreme Court rejects challenge to lethal injection

As detailed in this AP article, earlier this week the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a "2005 study indicating condemned inmates may suffer pain when being put to death by lethal injection is inconclusive and no reason to delay the scheduled execution of a convicted killer."  The ruling came in Hill v. Florida, No. SC06-2 (Fla. Jan. 17, 2006) (available here), which provides fairly summary treatment of the lethal injection claim and other arguments raised by the defendant.  Perhaps the most notable aspect of the Hill ruling is that one Justice, writing in dissent, explains why it would be valuable to hold an evidentiary hearing in this case to explore Florida's lethal injection protocol.

Related coverage of this issue in prior posts:

• The legal attack on lethal injection
• Are four Justices ready to grant cert. on the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols?
• More on constitutional challenges to lethal injection
• Notable ruling on constitutionality of lethal injection
• Major Tennessee ruling upholds lethal injection protocol

UPDATE:  This newspaper article provides a broader account of a range of issues surrounding Florida's use of the death penalty and upcoming Sunshine State executions.