High Court Split Paves Way for Arizona Execution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday night split along conservative-liberal lines, with Justice Anthony Kennedy joining the conservatives, to allow the Arizona execution of Jeffrey Landrigan to proceed in spite of lower court concerns about the safety of the drugs being used for the lethal injection. Landrigan was executed at 12:26 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The high court’s order said "speculation cannot substitute for evidence that the use of the drug is ‘sure or very likely to cause serious illness or needless suffering.’"