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| US court reviews lethal injection | US court reviews lethal injection |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The US Supreme Court is to review the legality of lethal injections, the means of execution in most US states. | The US Supreme Court is to review the legality of lethal injections, the means of execution in most US states. |
| The high court has agreed to hear challenges from two death row inmates Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. | The high court has agreed to hear challenges from two death row inmates Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. |
| The pair sued the state of Kentucky in 2004, saying lethal injections were cruel and a violation of civil rights. | The pair sued the state of Kentucky in 2004, saying lethal injections were cruel and a violation of civil rights. |
| The case could affect the way inmates are executed in the US. Lawyers for the men said the court had not reviewed the issue for more than 100 years. | |
| "This is probably one of the most important cases in decades as it relates to the death penalty," said legal representative David Barron. | |
| Lethal injection is used in all the 38 states that have capital punishment except Nebraska, which requires electrocution. | |
| The standard method is a combination of three chemicals - one which makes the inmate unconscious, another that paralyses all muscles except the heart, and a final drug which stops the heart, causing death. | |
| Some argue that the executions are often slow and painful, so violating a constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual punishment". |