Arkansas is asking the nation's highest court to not review a decision upholding the state's lethal injection law, saying the nine death row inmates challenging the ruling have not raised a federal claim in the case.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the inmates' request to review the state Supreme Court's June decision upholding the law, which keeps the source of the state's lethal injection drugs secret. The Arkansas court stayed its mandate while the inmates asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
The inmates argue the law puts them at risk of being subjected to unconstitutional cruel or unusual punishment.
Arkansas has not executed an inmate since 2005 because of legal challenges and the difficulty of obtaining execution drugs.
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