United States Sixth Circuit

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action challenging Tennessee's lethal injection protocol under the Eighth Amendment, judgment for Plaintiff is vacated where Baze v. Rees, 128 S. Ct. 1520 (2008), addressed the same risks identified by the District Court, but reached the conclusion that they did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/02/2009
• Published 07/02/2009

Judges

• Before:  SILER, CLAY, and COOK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Joseph Frederick Whalen, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellants.  Stephen M. Kissinger, Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Joseph Frederick Whalen, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellants.  Stephen M. Kissinger, Dana Hansen Chavis, Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellee.