Washington Law Review Volume 90 Number 3 10-1-2015 Nothing Less Than the Dignity of Man: The Eighth Amendment and State Efforts to Reinstitute Traditional Methods of Execution James C. Feldman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation James C. Feldman, Notes and Comments, Nothing Less Than the Dignity of Man: The Eighth Amendment and State Efforts to Reinstitute Traditional Methods of Execution, 90 Wash. L. Rev. 1313 (2015). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol90/iss3/6 This Notes and Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at UW Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington Law Review by an authorized editor of UW Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 09 - Feldman.docx (Do Not Delete) 10/23/2015 12:49 PM NOTHING LESS THAN THE DIGNITY OF MAN: THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT AND STATE EFFORTS TO REINSTITUTE TRADITIONAL METHODS OF EXECUTION James C. Feldman Abstract: While lethal injection is the predominant method of executing death row inmates in America, European export bans and pharmaceutical manufacturers’ refusal to supply execution drugs has impeded the ability of states’ departments of corrections to obtain the drugs used for lethal injections. Facing a drug shortage, several death penalty states have considered legislation to reinstate the use of electric chairs, firing squads, and gas chambers. Efforts to restore traditional methods of capital punishment raise questions about whether such methods still comply with the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments.