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Opening Arguments

Don't be cruel

This outcome was to be expected, but it's a little surprising that the vote was 7-2 instead of 5-4:

The Supreme Court has upheld the three-drug lethal injection method used by the state of Kentucky in a 7-2 decision, clearing the way for a nationwide stay on executions to be lifted.

Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented. Antonin Scalia is blunter than most death penalty advocates would be, but he cuts right to the chase: "Where does this come from that you must find the method of execution that causes the least pain? We have approved electrocution. We have approved death by firing squad. I expect both of those have more possibilities of painful death than the protocol here."

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