Chicago Tribune, April 16, by James Oliphant
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-death-penaltyapr17,0,23259,print.story
“The door is not closed,” said Elisabeth Semel … who helped bring the challenge to Kentucky’s lethal injection procedures. Semel said the court’s opinion made it clear that states can be forced to institute alternative lethal injection procedures if it can be proved they can alleviate a substantial risk of pain.
Chicago Tribune, April 16, by James Oliphant
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-death-penaltyapr17,0,23259,print.story
“The door is not closed,” said Elisabeth Semel … who helped bring the challenge to Kentucky’s lethal injection procedures. Semel said the court’s opinion made it clear that states can be forced to institute alternative lethal injection procedures if it can be proved they can alleviate a substantial risk of pain.
The Press-Enterprise, April 16, by Janet Zimmerman and Richard K. De Atley
http://www.pe.com/rss/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_death17.3b4796e.html
“Some proponents of the death penalty would see this as a victory. But in terms of challenges to lethal injection, I think the ball is still very much in play,” said Elisabeth Semel…. The fact that even the justices who voted in the majority had different reasoning for doing so shows that “it’s not black and white,” she said.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 16, by Jennifer A. Dlouhy
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/359334_scotus17.html
Elisabeth Semel … said “The court’s ruling today approves Kentucky’s lethal injection procedures based upon the evidence presented.” Nevertheless, Semel said, the ruling “calls into serious question the procedures in a number of other states.”
KCBS/AP, April 16, by Doug Sovern
http://www.kcbs.com/pages/2016425.php
“I don’t know who is whispering in his (govenor’s) ear, but I think he needs a new lawyer,” said Semel.
NBC11/AP, April 16
http://www.nbc11.com/news/15904785/detail.html
“The court has addressed the constitutional standard and now we move forward from here,” said Elisabeth Semel…. “Where I believe we move is into legal challenges that will persist in California and go on across the country.”
Californian, April 17, Associated Press and Sunita Vijayan
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804170302
Semel said there are “unnecessary risks” to using a three-drug formula when there other, safer alternatives, including barbiturates used by veterinarians in euthanizing animals. “It said that you have to prove there’s substantial risk that a person executed suffers substantial pain,” Semel said. “How do you prove it?”
New York Times, April 17, by Adam Liptak
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/washington/17lethal.html?sq=Berkeley&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=2&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1208450898-UmmoW1vCXmmGDW7iz7DT5A
Professor Semel said the fractured decision, the relatively sparse information available about practices in Kentucky and the new standard announced by the court would produce fertile ground for additional litigation, particularly in states where flaws in the administration of lethal injections were documented.
“If it looks like California or it looks like Missouri or it looks like Tennessee,” she said, “then it’s not a substantially similar protocol to the one in Kentucky.”
San Francisco Daily Journal, April 17, by Brent Kendall
http://www.dailyjournal.com/law/index.cfm
Semel said the evidentiary record in Kentucky, which has executed just one inmate using lethal injection, was sparse, while cases in California, Missouri and Tennessee were much better developed, with evidence showing botched executions, poorly mixed lethal injection drugs and badly trained execution personnel. “The outcomes in those jurisdictions could be quite different,” Semel said.
San Jose Mercury News, April 17, by Howard Mintz
http://www.mercurynews.com//ci_8955620?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
“The court’s ruling today approves Kentucky’s lethal injection procedures based upon the evidence presented, but calls into serious question the procedures in a number of other states,” said Elisabeth Semel…. “Things are still very much in flux.”
USA Today, April 17, by Joan Biskupic
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2008-04-16-Lethalinside_N.htm
“We cannot hold our breath for this court to stay executions again, certainly not in the wake of this case,” says Elisabeth Semel…. “But if we can gain traction in other states and develop records about how executions are actually carried out, it is likely we could meet the court’s test” for when an execution method is unconstitutional.
Washington Post, April 17, by Robert Barnes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041601419_pf.html
Elisabeth Semel … said that in Tennessee, where executions were halted by a federal judge, evidence of alternative methods already exists. The headline on a statement from the clinic showed how death penalty opponents view the decision: “Nationwide Lethal Injection Challenges to Move Forward.”