Death Row inmate challenges Idaho’s lethal-injection execution method

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho death row inmate Paul Ezra Rhoades is challenging the state’s method of execution in federal court. Rhoades, who was convicted of three murders in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot in 1988, says lethal injections are frequently botched, Idaho’s protocol doesn’t require enough training for the execution team, and that other problems with the system would render his execution unconstitutional. Rhoades is one of a handful of Idaho death row inmates whose cases may be nearing an end. The Idaho Department of Correction, in anticipation of at least one execution occurring within the next year, has been taking several steps to prepare — including updating its execution protocol. Department spokesman Jeff Ray says the protocol is still being drafted, but it’s designed to fully comply with all U.S. Supreme Court rulings.