Summary
A report says Black inmates sentenced to death by lethal injection suffered a botched procedure at higher rates than white prisoners. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty in three cases was unconstitutional. Since then, at least 1,582 individuals have been executed. The report highlights different case studies, including the 2014 botched execution of Clayton Lockett, a 38-year-old Black man in Oklahoma. The death penalty has long faced scrutiny for racial disparities. Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “The death penalty is racist, cruel, and inhumane punishment that has no place in a just society’ Reprieve calls for immediate moratorium on all lethal injection executions at both state and federal levels. Study urges officials to be more transparent about the process, including recording the start time of an execution.
