SCOTUS Rules Arizona Execution Can Proceed

By Alexandra Olgin
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - 4:42pm

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday afternoon that an Arizona inmate’s execution will go ahead as scheduled. This reverses the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had put the execution on hold.

After Tuesday's decision the Arizona Department of Corrections confirmed that Joseph Rudolph Wood will be executed Wednesday morning. He was convicted of murder in the 1989 shooting of his girlfriend and her father.

Wood was part of a case that challenged the state’s secrecy over the drug combination used in lethal injections. His attorneys argued he has a First Amendment right to the details of his execution.