Jefferson S. Dunn v. Christopher Lee Price

Summary

Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan, dissents from the Supreme Court’s order granting the State’s application to vacate the district court’s stay of execution. The dissent argues that the lower courts correctly found a substantial risk of severe pain from lethal injection, that nitrogen hypoxia is a viable and less painful alternative, and that the district court retained jurisdiction to consider new evidence. It contends that the Court’s intervention disregards the lower courts’ factual findings and fairness considerations.