McGehee v. Hutchinson, No. 17-1804 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe district court entered stays of execution in an action brought by nine Arkansas prisoners under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The prisoners were all convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The court granted the State's motion to vacate the stays, concluding that the prisoners could have brought their section 1983 method-of-execution claim much earlier and intentionally declined to do so; the district court's conclusion concerning the use of midazolam in the Arkansas execution protocol did not apply the governing standard; the district court's factual findings would not support a conclusion that the prisoners have a likelihood of success in showing that the execution protocol is sure or very likely to cause severe pain; the court disagreed with the legal standard that the district court applied in determining whether alternative methods of execution are known and available; and, even assuming a risk of pain from the current method, the availability of the several methods cited by the district court is too uncertain to satisfy the rigorous standard under the Eighth Amendment. Accordingly, the court vacated the stays of execution.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Shepherd, Circuit Judge, and Strand, District Judge] Civil case - Employment discrimination. In a dispute over whether terminated employees knowingly and voluntarily waived their rights and claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by accepting benefits and signing waivers, the district court erred in denying General Mills' motion to compel arbitration; no contrary Congressional command overrides the Federal Arbitration Act's mandate to enforce the parties' agreement to arbitrate ADEA claims.
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