Question

You will need to find a current event from any media source (newspaper, internet, etc). The current event should be related to a legal topic, but it does not have to be a topic we discussed in class. Do a ½ page summary of the current event and a ½ page response relevant to your story, i.e. will the new law be effective, suggest an alternative option to the problem, do you agree with the action taken, etc.  

Answer 1

One of the most contentious legal cases currently in news is the petition by Russell Bucklew, convicted for murder of Michael Sanders in the year 1996 in Missouri, for execution by lethal gas rather than through lethal injection. He claims that lethal injection may rupture blood filled tumors in his body due to a rare ailment. His attorneys claim that using lethal injection will cause undue pain and agony to their client which will be a violation of the US constitution that prohibits punishment which is cruel and inhuman.

The issue here is whether convicts have the right to demand the kind of punishment i.e. execution pronounced by the honorable courts. As per Missouri law, execution is permissible by way of lethal gas or lethal injection though in practice only lethal injection is used.

The high court stayed the execution on Russell's appeal and the case is now to be heard by Supreme court for a final decision.

The court that issued the judgment has full rights to decide on the kind of punishment a convict deserved based on the severity of crime or fatal action he or she committed. The court's decision is also based on medical reports of the convict and therefore cannot be challenged. However, since the law in Missouri permits execution by both lethal gas and lethal injection, the court while delivering the judgment should have explained its reasons for chosen execution method. Alternately, the law should be amended to prescribe only one way of execution to remove any ambiguities.