Supreme Court takes up lethal injection case

Associated Press - January 7, 2008 7:04 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today in a case challenging the way lethal injections are administered to condemned inmates.

The two Kentucky death row inmates whose challenge is before the court are not asking to be spared execution or death by injection. Their argument, basically, is that there are ways to get the job done relatively pain-free.

The court's decision could determine how convicted killers are executed in Florida, which has similar lethal injection procedures to the state of Kentucky.

The men claim that lethal injection as practiced in Kentucky amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Their lawyers say other states routinely botch executions by using poorly trained people, complex procedures and even dim lighting that makes it hard for the executioner to see what he is doing.