Sotomayor, J., dissenting
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 17–8151
RUSSELL BUCKLEW, PETITIONER v. ANNE L. PRECYTHE, DIRECTOR, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
[April 1, 2019]
Justice Sotomayor, dissenting.
As I have maintained ever since the Court started down this wayward path in Glossip v. Gross, 576 U. S. ___ (2015), there is no sound basis in the Constitution for requiring condemned inmates to identify an available means for their own executions. Justice Breyer ably explains why today’s extension of Glossip’s alternative-method requirement is misguided (even on that precedent’s own terms), and why (with or without that requirement) a trial is needed to determine whether Missouri’s planned means of executing Russell Bucklew creates an intolerable risk of suffering in light of his rare medical condition. I join Justice Breyer’s dissent, except for Part III. I write separately to address the troubling dicta with which the Court concludes its opinion.
I
Given the majority’s ominous words about late-arising death penalty litigation, ante, at 29–30, one might assume there is some legal question before us concerning delay. Make no mistake: There is not. The majority’s commentary on once and future stay applications is not only inessential but also wholly irrelevant to its resolution of any issue before us.
