In a 5-2 vote, the Court disagreed with a Kentucky case in which the petitioners said the three-drug system used in lethal injections constituted a violation of the 8th amendment. Their argument revolved around the anesthetic which is the first drug administered and is meant to put the person to sleep.

If the drug did not work, however, the next two drugs – usually pancuronium and potassium chloride – cause excruciating pain.

The Supreme Court disagreed.

Several states, including Ohio, had put death sentences on hold while waiting for a judgment in the case.

Ohio has had two controversial injections in recent months when 2 executions took longer than usual because medical staff could not find viable veins in the condemned.