Ralph Baze | Baze v Rees | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Ralph BAZE Jr.



Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: To avoid arrest
Number of victims: 2
Date of murders: January 30, 1992
Date of arrest: Same day
Date of birth: July 1, 1955
Victims profile: Sheriff Steven Bennett and Deputy Sheriff Arthur Briscoe
Method of murder: Shooting (SKS assault rifle)
Location: Rowan County, Kentucky, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on February 4, 1994





Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. ___ (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case. The court agreed to hear the appeal of two men, Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling, who were sentenced to death in Kentucky. The men argue that executing them by lethal injection would violate the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Under court precedent, lethal injection must not inflict "unnecessary pain". The men's attorneys argued that the chemicals used to kill them carried an unnecessary risk of inflicting pain during the process. The case had nationwide implications because specific "cocktail" used for lethal injections in Kentucky is the same that virtually all states use for lethal injection. An effective moratorium on executions in the United States had taken place since certiorari was granted in this case. The Court heard oral arguments on January 7, 2008. On April 16, the Court rejected the challenge thereby upholding Kentucky's method of lethal injection by a vote of 7-2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented.




Supreme Court of the United States

BAZE v. REES (No. 07-5439) 217 S. W. 3d 207, affirmed.

syllabus	opinion (roberts)

concurrence (alito)	concurrence (stevens)

concurrence (scalia)	concurrence (thomas)

concurrence (breyer)	dissent (ginsburg)





Briefs and Documents Docket: 07-5439 Argument Transcript AFFIRMED in a judgment of Court announced by Chief Justice Roberts. Merits briefs Brief for Petitioner Ralph Baze, et al. Brief for Respondent John D. Rees, et al. Reply Brief for Petitioner Ralph Baze, et al. Joint Appendix Volume IV Amicus briefs Brief for the American Civi Liberties Union of Kentucky and the Rutherford Institute in Support of Petitioner Brief for Fordham University School of Law, Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics in Support of Petitioner Brief for Critical Care Providers and Clinical Ethicists in Support of Petitioner Brief for Drs. Kevin ConCannon, Dennis Geiser, Carolyn Kerr, Glen Pettifer, and Sheilah Robertson in Support of Petitioner Brief for Michael Morales, Michael Taylor, Vernon Evans Jr., and John Gary Hardwick Jr. in Support of Petitioner Brief for the Human Rights Watch in Support of Petitioner Brief for the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists in Support of Petitioner Brief for the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, Inc. in Support of Neither Party Brief for the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Support of Neither Party Brief for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Support of Respondent Brief for the United States of America in Support of Respondent Brief for Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming in Support of Respondent Certiorari filings Petition for Certiorari Brief in Opposition Petitioner's Reply