Supreme Court Rejects Inmate’s Plea for Firing Squad
The inmate, Ernest Johnson, argued that Missouri’s planned use of pentobarbital to execute him would cause excruciating pain.
The Supreme Court gave no reason for refusing to hear the case.Credit.Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times
May 24, 2021, 1:32 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON Over the dissents of its three liberal members, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from a death row inmate in Missouri who said the way the state planned to execute him would cause him excruciating pain. The inmate, Ernest Johnson, had asked to instead be put to death by a firing squad.
U.S. Grants Temporary Protections to Thousands of Haitians
The designation, which will be in place for 18 months, could protect as many as 150,000 Haitians living temporarily in the United States.
Migrants from Haiti arriving at the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition after being released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Del Rio, Texas, in March.Credit.Adrees Latif/Reuters
Published May 22, 2021Updated May 23, 2021, 12:52 a.m. ET
The Biden administration on Saturday extended special protections to Haitians living temporarily in the United States after being displaced by a devastating 2010 earthquake, reversing efforts by the previous administration to force them to leave the country.
Supreme Court to Rule on Whether C.I.A. Black Sites Are State Secrets
A Guantánamo detainee is seeking information from two former government contractors in connection with a Polish criminal inquiry into a facility there.
An airport in Szymany, Poland, where C.I.A. planes were said to have landed in 2002 and 2003. An inquiry into whether a C.I.A. detainee was tortured at so-called black sites, including one in Poland, was prompted by a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.Credit.Artur Reszko/AFP
April 26, 2021Updated 4:41 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the government can block a detainee at Guantánamo Bay from obtaining information from two former C.I.A. contractors involved in torturing him on the ground that it would expose state secrets.
Cracks in a Legal Shield for Officers’ Misconduct
The Supreme Court has hinted that it is ready to trim the doctrine of qualified immunity, which makes it difficult to sue government officials for violence and cruelty.
Two recent rulings suggest the Supreme Court may be ready to curtail the doctrine of qualified immunity, but one was terse and the other cryptic, leaving room for debate.Credit.Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times
Published March 8, 2021Updated March 25, 2021
WASHINGTON For years, the Supreme Court has been hostile to lawsuits from victims of police violence, prisoners subjected to appalling cruelty and others who sought to sue government officials for violations of their constitutional rights.
Several justices seemed concerned that judges should have been appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. But there was no consensus about how to fix that flaw.