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Is Lethal Injection Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Death row inmate Steven Oken contested Maryland's method of performing lethal injections, claiming it violated the constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment -- but he lost when the U.S. Supreme Court approved his execution. NPR's Mike Pesca reports on the medical effects of lethal injection, and the argument over the method's constitutionality.

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Mike Pesca first reached the airwaves as a 10-year-old caller to a New York Jets-themed radio show and has since been able to parlay his interests in sports coverage as a National Desk correspondent for NPR based in New York City.
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