Opinion ID: 221564
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DeYoung's Claims

Text: DeYoung's challenge to the State's method of execution is two-pronged. First, he contends the GDOC's lethal injection protocol violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Specifically, DeYoung alleges, among other things, that the use of pentobarbital as an anesthetic poses a substantial risk of serious harm to him because: (1) pentobarbital has been insufficiently tested for induction of anesthetic coma in fully conscious persons, and (2) in prior executions using pentobarbital, the drug did not painlessly anesthetize the prisoners. Second, DeYoung contends the GDOC's lethal injection protocol, as written and as administered in practice, violates his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment because: (1) the written protocol contains gaps in the execution procedure that the GDOC fills in on an ad hoc basis, leading to disparate treatment for different inmates; and (2) the GDOC deviates from the written protocol, similarly leading to disparate treatment for different inmates. The State promptly filed a motion to dismiss on numerous grounds, including the statute of limitations and failure to state a claim.