This week, the General Assembly passed H774, which, if signed by the governor or allowed to become law without his signature, would make two significant changes in the administration of the death penalty. Specifically, it would allow a medical professional other than a physician to be present at an execution (current law requires a doctor), and would allow the state to withhold from the public information concerning the identity of any person or entity that supplies the drugs used in lethal injection. WRAL covers the controversy over the bill here. Generally, proponents contend that the changes are needed to allow executions to resume while opponents argue that the bill will simply engender more litigation. In other news: Red light cameras in Fayetteville. Red light cameras have been rare in North Carolina in recent years. My understanding is that municipalities moved away from them after Shavitz v. City of High Point, 177 N.C. App. 465 (2006), where the court of appeals ruled that the monetary penalties imposed based on the cameras must go to the schools, not to the city. But they’re up and running again in Fayetteville, according to this WRAL story. Fayetteville’s web site explains the program here. Unpopular Supreme Court. If the Court were a teenager, it would not get invited to go to the mall this weekend with the in crowd. Above the Law reports here on the latest Gallup poll, which finds the Court’s approval rating to be at an all-time low. Opinions break down along ideological [...]
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