Tennessee Executes Child Killer: For the first time since 2009, Tennessee executed a condemned murderer Thursday amid claims that the three-drug execution cocktail amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. CBS News reports that Billy Ray Irick's execution took 14 minutes, after he coughed, took deep breaths and turned dark purple. About 50 protesters were outside the prison during the execution. Irick was sentenced to death for the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl he was babysitting. His attorneys attempted to stop the execution with claims that the use of the sedative midazolam would cause pain. In her dissent from the SCOTUS denial of a stay, Associate Justice Sonya Sotomayor asserted the Tennessee protocol could cause "torturous pain." I suspect that the little girl that Irick raped and killed probably suffered more pain.
News Scan curated from Crime and Consequences Blog
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