Lethal injections halted
The week's news at a glance.
Florida
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a death-penalty moratorium in his state last week, after it took 34 minutes and a second injection to kill a condemned murderer. Most prisoners die within 15 minutes, but 24 minutes after his injection, inmate Angel Diaz was grimacing, blinking, and appearing to mouth words. Doctors later determined that technicians missed the artery in his left arm when they first injected him. Lethal injection also came under new scrutiny in two other states. In California, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel said that the state’s lethal-injection system was so shoddy it violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Maryland’s highest court also halted executions, saying the state’s protocol for lethal injections had been adopted improperly. Lethal injection remains the preferred execution method in 37 states, but constitutional challenges have been gaining momentum.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
China's London super-embassy
The Explainer The People's Republic wants to build a massive new embassy in central London, and a lot of people aren't happy about it