Opinion ID: 1058176
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Contemporary Standards of Decency and Dignity

Text: In applying this framework, we begin with an analysis of whether the lethal injection protocol comports with contemporary standards of decency. In ascertaining contemporary standards of decency, a court must look to objective evidence of how our society views a particular punishment today. Van Tran, 66 S.W.3d at 800. The most reliable objective evidence of contemporary standards is most often found in legislation. Id.; see also Roper, 125 S.Ct. at 1190 (holding that contemporary standards reflected in legislation prohibits execution of juveniles); Atkins, 536 U.S. at 311-12, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (holding that contemporary standards reflected in legislation prohibits execution of mentally retarded inmates). Accordingly, as the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly shown, the clearest and most reliable objective evidence of contemporary values is the legislation enacted by the country's legislatures. Id. at 312, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (quoting Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 331, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989)). Here, there is overwhelming evidence that lethal injection, which is commonly thought to be the most humane form of execution, is consistent with contemporary standards of decency. See, e.g., Wheeler v. Commonwealth, 121 S.W.3d 173, 186 (Ky.2003); Webb, 750 A.2d at 458. Of the thirty-eight states that presently have capital punishment, approximately thirty-seven have legislation adopting lethal injection as the primary means of execution. See Cooper v. Rimmer, 358 F.3d 655, 659 (9th Cir.2004); Webb, 750 A.2d at 457 (summarizing legislation in thirty-four states). Moreover, no court has ever held that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. See Cooper, 358 F.3d at 659; Wheeler, 121 S.W.3d at 186; Webb, 750 A.2d at 457-58. In addition, the evidence in this case has established that Tennessee's lethal injection protocol is consistent with the overwhelming majority of lethal injection protocols used by other states and the federal government. The evidence revealed, for instance, that the Department of Correction formed a committee for establishing the protocol and then studied the protocols used throughout the country. As a result, the committee based its protocol on the lethal injection protocols used by other states and by the federal government. The petitioner argues that we should not consider the strong evidence of protocols formulated by Departments of Correction in other states because they were not enacted by legislatures. We disagree. The protocols in every jurisdiction stem from legislation that created lethal injection as a method of execution; moreover, it is equally significant that the protocols have remained intact without legislative revision. Accordingly, we believe that evidence of the lethal injection protocols throughout the country is highly probative of the contemporary standards. The petitioner also assails the inclusion of Pavulon in Tennessee's lethal injection protocol as being inconsistent with contemporary standards. While the Chancellor correctly observed that the State failed to show a legitimate reason for the use of Pavulon in the lethal injection protocol, the undisputed evidence before the Chancellor was that only two states do not use some combination of sodium Pentothal, Pavulon, and potassium chloride. Moreover, the Chancellor and the Court of Appeals correctly observed that the analysis under the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 16 of the Tennessee Constitution does not require consideration of whether other means of execution may be superior in some way or the result of a more updated study. Instead, the lower courts properly focused on the appropriate legal standard and concluded that the use of Pavulon does not violate contemporary standards of decency. Accordingly, we agree that using Pavulon in the lethal injection protocol does not violate contemporary standards of decency.