Emmett v. Johnson

Background

A man convicted of capital murder in 2001 challenged Virginia’s lethal injection procedure, filing suit on April 19, 2007 under a federal civil-rights law and arguing the method violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel punishment. The federal trial court ruled for the State, finding he had not shown a substantial risk of serious pain or that officials were deliberately indifferent. He appealed to the Fourth Circuit on September 25, 2007 and sought a stay of execution from this Court as his October 17 execution date approached.

Reasoning

This Court had earlier agreed to review Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol in a separate case, and initially granted a stay in this inmate’s case pending the Fourth Circuit’s final decision. The Commonwealth of Virginia moved to lift that stay. The majority granted the motion to vacate the stay. Justice Stevens, joined by two colleagues, dissented and argued the stay should remain while the Court of Appeals resolves factual disputes about how Virginia’s procedure compares to Kentucky’s protocol.

Real world impact

Because the stay was lifted, Virginia may proceed with the execution while the appeal and related briefing move forward, unless another court steps in. The Fourth Circuit had requested additional briefing after the Kentucky decision and heard argument on May 14, so it remains positioned to resolve factual and procedural questions. Justice Stevens cautioned that leaving the stay in place would avoid forcing the parties to file extra papers and would let the appeals court decide with the full trial record.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Stevens dissented, emphasizing factual disputes about the Virginia protocol and arguing the Court of Appeals is better placed to decide those questions before the execution proceeds.