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Document Type

Amicus Brief

Publication Date

10-22-2021

Case Name

Nance v. Ward

Abstract

Amici Curiae are legal scholars and academics who have dedicated their careers to the study, teaching and practice of United States constitutional law, including the death penalty and methods of execution. Many amici have written scholarly articles on these topics.

Many amici listed below earlier wrote to this Court in 2018 by submitting a brief in Bucklew v. Precythe, 139 S. Ct. 1112 (2019), to apprise the Court of information regarding the availability of alternative methods of execution to be considered in clarifying the applicable Eighth Amendment standard for method-of-execution challenges. Amici agreed with the Court’s clear statement in that case that prisoners challenging an unconstitutional method of execution are not limited to proposing alternative methods already authorized by state law. They are particularly concerned today that the decision below violates this Court’s own guidance by foreclosing prisoners’ previously protected ability to allege well established and available alternative methods of execution that are not yet authorized under a given state’s law.

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