BOISE -- Four inmates on Idaho's death row are suing the state over Idaho's newest lethal injection procedures.
The inmates say the policy gives too much power to prison officials, creates a risk of severe pain and would allow unqualified workers to carry out medical procedures. The inmates want a federal judge to stop all executions for now.
The lawsuit comes as the Idaho Department of Correction prepares for the possibility of an execution sometime in late spring or early summer. Richard Leavitt, convicted of the brutal 1984 stabbing death of Danette Jean Elg in Blackfoot, is waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will consider his case. If the high court refuses, Leavitt could be the next inmate to enter the lethal injection chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
