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Is Lethal Injection Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Death row inmate Steven Oken contested Maryland's method of performing lethal injections, claiming it violated the constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment -- but he lost when the U.S. Supreme Court approved his execution. NPR's Mike Pesca reports on the medical effects of lethal injection, and the argument over the method's constitutionality.

Copyright 2004 NPR

Mike Pesca first reached the airwaves as a 10-year-old caller to a New York Jets-themed radio show and has since been able to parlay his interests in sports coverage as a National Desk correspondent for NPR based in New York City.
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