As you may know, the US Supreme Court has taken a case out of Kentucky to rule on the constitutionality of lethal injection. Clearly, there are major concerns with the current lethal injection protocols and I'm glad that the US Supreme Court has taken notice, read more about this HERE. However, there were still many executions scheduled and the question in hand was whether or not these executions would proceed as we await the US Supreme Court. After a number of stays on the state level, we seem to have reached a more national answer.

"Moments before a Mississippi prisoner was scheduled to die by lethal injection, the Supreme Court granted him a stay of execution on Tuesday evening and thus gave a nearly indisputable indication that a majority intends to block all executions until the court decides a lethal injection case from Kentucky next spring."

-Linda Greenhouse, NY Times, read the article HERE

This is of course, fantastic news. It is important to reiterate though that the Supreme Court is ruling on the constitutionality of the current lethal injection protocols, not the death penalty. But, time is time, and this latest ruling indicates that many death row inmates awaiting exeuction have been given the gift of a longer life. There is a massive amount of national attention and momentum on the death penalty. I feel the swell nationally and here in Tennessee. It wasn't long ago that Gov. Bredesen commuted the sentence of Michael Boyd from death to life in prison. The death penalty is also being scrutinized to a degree not seen in some time, nationally and in Tennssee (study committee). There is a lot to celebrate with, but we cannot become complacent. The Supreme Court will rule and inevitably executions will be back on...and the aboltionist movement will be ready!