Thread by @mjs_DC

In today's (terrible) 5–4 death penalty decision, Gorsuch and Sotomayor continue the fight over Domineque Ray, whom SCOTUS allowed to be executed without his imam present. supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf…

Breyer, too, used his dissent to take another thwack at the majority's refusal to protect Ray's access to an imam in the death chamber.

One gets the sense that the liberal justices know they hold the winning hand here, at least in the court of public opinion.

Anyway, five justices of the Supreme Court authorized Missouri to torture a man to death today. supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf…

Gorsuch's atrocious opinion in today's death penalty case essentially convert's Thomas' extreme interpretation of the 8th Amendment—long considered a fringe view—into the law of the land. Just jaw-dropping. supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf…

Gorsuch essentially imports a notorious Thomas/Scalia concurrence—which permits heinously torturous, excruciating methods of execution—into 8th Amendment law. It's a remarkable sleight of hand.

Indeed, it appears that Gorsuch's opinion quietly overrules the "evolving standards of decency" test, which has been controlling 8th Amendment law for a half-century.

https://twitter.com/SamSpital/status/1112726805721595904

The Supreme Court's 5–4 death penalty decision today is beyond appalling. It legalizes torture and effectively reverses 60 years of progressive precedent. It transforms a barbaric view of the 8th Amendment into the law of the land. It is horrific. slate.com/news-and-polit… @Slate

@Slate It is also a clear indication that Kavanaugh will not uphold the 8th Amendment jurisprudence of his predecessor, Anthony Kennedy.

Kennedy had voted to stop Missouri from torturing Russell Bucklew to death. Kavanaugh just let the execution proceed. slate.com/news-and-polit…