A federal judge in 2006 ruled California’s lethal-injection method execution unconstitutional.
Lethal Injection Chamber
Yesterday, Marin County Superior Court Judge rejected the State’s new proposed three-drug combination in executing an inmate, and ruled a one drug method should have been considered.
The Court further held that the Department of Corrections failed “to provide a sufficient rationale for rejecting these alternatives” and failed to explain “why a one-drug alternative would not be as effective or better than the adopted three-drug procedure.” She further reiterated that the State’s regulation approving the use of the three drug injection invalid.
The challenge to State’s proposed 3-drug injection was filed in 2010 on behalf of death row inmate Michael Sims who has been on death row for over 20 years. There are over 700 other inmates in death row in California.