Judge Tosses Out California's Death Penalty
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Marin County judge has tossed out California's newly adopted lethal injection procedure, saying prison officials failed to properly consider a one-drug alternative to execute inmates.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge Faye D'Opal finalized the tentative ruling she issued a day earlier. D'Opal said prison officials failed to properly explain why they rejected a one-drug process using only a barbiturate, even though one of their experts recommended it as being superior to the three-drug mixture they adopted.
A call to a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was not immediately returned.
D'Opal's decision throws California's stalled capital punishment system into further doubt.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
