Kentucky judge upholds use of lethal injection for execution

Published: 2005-07-20

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNS) -- After a Kentucky judge upheld the use of lethal injection for executions, the head of the state Catholic conference said that whatever method of capital punishment is used, "there is no moral way for the state to kill." "Human life is sacred. ... The state's killing by lethal injection or any other means undermines the culture of life that we all seek," said Ed Monahan, executive director of the conference, the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops. The state has means "to ensure our safety without killing," Monahan said in a news release issued July 8, the same day the judge's decision was announced. He cited surveys showing that most Kentuckians favor life in prison without parole as an alternative to execution. Franklin Circuit Court Judge Roger L. Crittenden ruled that lethal injection is constitutional and is not cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and under Section 17 of the Kentucky Constitution.

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