Arthur v. Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections

Under the Majority’s decision, state law can dictate the scope of the Constitution’s protections. Thomas-Arthur raises a method-of-execution claim proposing the firing squad as an execution alternative, and the Majority finds that state law defeats this constitutional claim. By misreading an Alabama statute, .the Majority creates a conflict between the claim and state law. The Majority then resolves that faux conflict in favor of state law, taking the unprecedented step of ascribing to states the power to legislatively foreclose constitutional relief. These missteps nullify countless…