South Carolina Supreme Court upholds state’s three execution methods

(The Center Square) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the state's three methods of execution and said having to choose an execution method "cannot be considered cruel."

The state's top court handed down its ruling after four death row inmates challenged having to choose between electrocution, firing squad and lethal injection. However, like other states, South Carolina has had difficulty obtaining the drugs for lethal injections.

"In the context of the constitutional principle that our State may carry out the death penalty on those on whom it has been lawfully imposed, 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," Justice John Cannon Few wrote in a majority opinion. "In the same context, choice cannot be unusual because the ... prohibition on 'unusual punishment' was not intended to inhibit innovative efforts to make execution less inhumane.

"Under the choice provisions of [the statute], a condemned inmate in South Carolina will never be subjected to execution by a method he contends is more inhumane than another method that is available," the justice added.

All justices at least partially concurred with the ruling in Owens v. Stirling, a case originally brought by two inmates and joined by two others. The ruling was issued on Chief Justice Don Beatty's final day on the court.

"The Supreme Court has rightfully upheld the rule of law," Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement. "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."

Last September, McMaster signed S.120, a so-called "shield statute" that prohibits disclosing information about companies or people involved with planning or administering a death sentence. It also exempts the acquisition of drugs, medical supplies and equipment for the death penalty from some state procurement and licensing requirements.

At the time, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said it would use a single dose of pentobarbital for lethal injections under new protocols it announced as part of its plan to resume lethal injections.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Palmetto State has carried out 43 executions since 1976 and currently has 35 people on death row. The state's last execution was in 2011.

"The death penalty has no place in our society or under our Constitution," ACLU-SC Executive Director Jace Woodrum said in a statement . "Execution is a costly, ineffective form of cruel and unusual punishment that not only fails to make us safer but raises the possibility of the state killing innocent people in our name. In addition, South Carolina's 'shield law' adds a layer of secrecy about the methodology of killing, making future executions less transparent than ever before."