Death penalty opponents say they're not discouraged by Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds Kentucky's method of lethal injection.The high court's decision means executions will likely resume in the three dozen or so states that use methods similar to Kentucky's on Death Row inmates.Kentucky Public Advocate Ernie Lewis, whose agency argued the case on behalf of condemned inmates Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling, says the decision seems to allow for the possibilty that the matter could be revisited under certain conditions."In the past, electrocution was viewed as generally constititutional, but as applied sometimes, for example when in Florida flames shot out of the head of one of the men who was being executed, the court rethought its position," Lewis said.Lewis and leaders of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty say they'll continue to push for a moratorium on capital punishment.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.