California death penalty fight shifts to execution method

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Supporters of capital punishment in California claimed victory after the state Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved measure to speed up death sentences. But they still have to clear a major obstacle before executions can resume — getting approval for a new lethal-injection method.

The next step in that fight is expected on Friday, when state corrections officials say they will seek regulatory approval for a revised drug protocol to execute inmates.

The new regulations would allow California’s death row inmates to be executed using one of two different drugs or choose the gas chamber.

The revised proposal would follow a highly anticipated California Supreme Court ruling on Thursday about Proposition 66, a push to “mend not end” capital punishment in California by tightening rules on court appeals by inmates.

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