WASHINGTON—Trading sharp words, a deeply divided Supreme Court upheld the use of a controversial drug in lethal-injection executions Monday, June 29, even as two dissenting justices said for the first time they think it’s “highly likely” the death penalty itself is unconstitutional.
On their last day together until the fall, the justices voted 5–4 in a case from Oklahoma that the sedative midazolam can be used in executions without violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The court also divided 5–4 in cases upholding congressional districts drawn by independent commissions and calling into question first limits on mercury emissions from power plants. In addition, the justices also agreed to hear an important affirmative action case in the fall.
