The cruelty is the point: Johnson v. Precythe (5/24/2021)

Ernest Johnson asked to be executed by firing squad too late.  So he gets poisoned.  The cruelty is the point. WWJD?

Another death sentence OK'd by Catholics who follow the law, not their declared faith which opposes capital punishment, and particularly cruel executions.  6-3.  The usual lineup.  Sotomayor particularly lambasts her colleague Brett Kavanaugh for hypocrisy.

20-287 Johnson v. Precythe (5/24/2021)

Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting (Joined by Breyer and Kagan):

“There are higher values than ensuring that executions run on time.” ... (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting)  The Eighth Amendment sets forth one: We should not countenance the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment simply for the sake of expediency. That is what the Eighth Circuit’s decision has done. Because this Court chooses to stand idly by, I respectfully dissent