The Supreme Court Has Banned the Execution of the Insane

Essay

The Supreme Court has banned the execution of the insane. However, the Supreme Court allowed Arkansas officials to force a convicted murderer to take drugs to make him sane enough to be executed, in Singleton v. Norris (2003). The Supreme Court also held that an inmate who becomes mentally ill while in prison could not be executed, in Ford v. Wainwright (1986). Using the Eighth Amendment's "cruel and unusual" standard, how can you reconcile the decisions in the Arkansas case and in the Ford v. Wainwright case? In one situation, an insane person can be medicated and then put to death, while in the other situation, a person who becomes insane cannot. Beyond the Eighth Amendment, do you think there are any ethical issues raised by the Arkansas case?