Boyd v. Hamm

Summary

Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissents from the Court's denial of a stay of execution and denial of certiorari in Boyd v. Hamm. She argues that Alabama's use of nitrogen hypoxia likely violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and that a firing squad would be a feasible, less painful alternative. Accordingly, she would have granted the stay and the petition for certiorari.