In First Public Decision as Justice, Sotomayor Votes to Stay Execution
In her first public vote on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor has dissented from a decision to allow an execution to proceed.
Sotomayor dissented along with Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens, SCOTUSblog reports. The majority permitted the execution of Ohio death-row inmate Jason Getsy, scheduled for today.
Getsy had sought to challenge Ohio’s process for lethal injections, the Associated Press reports.
Sotomayor did not participate in an earlier order requiring a federal court hearing for death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, who contends the Eighth Amendment bars his execution because he is innocent. Seven of nine witnesses at Davis’ trial for killing a police officer have recanted their testimony, and the case has attracted international attention.
