South Carolina's high court has ruled that the state can execute death row inmates by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair.
This decision paves the way for the resumption of executions after a hiatus of over a decade. While all five justices agreed with at least part of the ruling , two expressed reservations about the legality of the firing squad as an execution method. One justice also voiced concerns about the electric chair being a form of cruel and unusual punishment.
Justice John Few, who wrote the majority opinion, argued that offering inmates a choice between the three execution methods was not intended to inflict pain but rather to make the death penalty less inhumane.
The ruling could affect as many as eight inmates who have exhausted their traditional appeals. However, it remains unclear when executions might resume or whether lawyers for death row inmates can appeal the ruling.
Governor Henry McMaster praised the court's interpretation of the law. "This decision is another step in ensuring that lawful sentences can be duly enforced and the families and loved ones of the victims receive the closure and justice they have long awaited," he said in a statement.
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Lawyers representing the death row inmates are currently reviewing the 94-page ruling before making any comments. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the U. S. in 1976, South Carolina has executed 43 inmates. Almost all of these inmates opted for lethal injection after it became an option in 1995.
"Choice cannot be considered cruel because the condemned inmate may elect to have the State employ the method he and his lawyers believe will cause him the least pain," Few wrote.
South Carolina hasn't performed an execution since 2011. The state's supplies of lethal injection drugs expired, and pharmaceutical companies refused to resupply if their identity could become public knowledge.
In response to this shortage, legislators approved the formation of a firing squad in 2021, offering death row inmates an alternative between that and the electric chair. However, those on death row challenged the choice, citing both options as inhumane and unconstitutional.
Come spring 2023, lawmakers passed a law ensuring the anonymity of lethal injection drug providers. By September, authorities declared they had acquired pentobarbital and were shifting lethal injection procedures from three drugs to one.
The high court has permitted plaintiffs to argue their case against the veil of secrecy enshrouding details about the lethal injection drugs' potency and quality. Currently, South Carolina is responsible for 32 individuals on death row. Among them, four are suing the state, with another four having exhausted their appeals.
Two of the latter group face additional legal procedures to assess their mental fitness to be executed, as detailed by Justice 360, a prisoner advocacy organization.
The state argued before the Supreme Court in February that lethal injection, electrocution, and firing squad all comply with existing death penalty protocols. "Courts have never held the death has to be instantaneous or painless," penned Grayson Lambert, a lawyer from Gov. Henry McMaster's office. However, lawyers representing the inmates urged the justices to side with Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman, who halted executions via electric chair or firing squad.
She referenced expert testimonies from the inmates' trial, which stated that prisoners would experience severe pain whether they were subjected to 2,000 volts of electricity in the century-old chair or if their hearts were stopped by bullets - assuming the three shooters hit their mark - from the yet-to-be-used firing squad.
Regarding the shield law, the inmates' attorneys argued they need to know if there is a regular supplier for the drug, which typically only lasts 45 days, and what guidelines are in place to test it and ensure its authenticity.
If the dose is too weak, inmates may suffer without dying. If it's too strong, the drug molecules can form tiny clusters that cause intense pain upon injection, according to court documents. "No inmate in the country has ever been put to death with such little transparency about how he or she would be executed," wrote Justice 360 lawyer Lindsey Vann.
In February, attorneys for the inmates informed the justices that lethal injection seems to be legal when proper protocols are followed, including providing information about the drug to the condemned in a manner consistent with other states and the federal government.
South Carolina used to execute an average of three inmates per year and had over 60 inmates on death row when the last execution took place in 2011. However, successful appeals and natural deaths have since reduced this number to 32.
Over the past 13 years, prosecutors have only sent three new prisoners to death row. Due to increasing costs, the unavailability of lethal injection drugs, and more robust defenses, they are opting to accept guilty pleas and life imprisonment without parole.
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