Nota Bene

CNN reports:

The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, upheld Kentucky’s use of lethal injection as a means of executing prisoners, ruling that the method — used in 35 states — is properly and humanely applied.The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Kentucky’s use of lethal injection is not “cruel and unusual.”

At issue was whether the most common method of capital punishment can cause excruciating pain for death row inmates, violating the Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” and thereby giving inmates a proper challenge in court.

The justices had never directly addressed the fundamental question over the constitutionality of the chemical “cocktail” of drugs used to execute convicted killers. All but one of the states that perform executions use the three-drug mixture.

You can read the opinion in Baze v. Rees here.

AP News reports:

A Los Angeles-based company known for its light deserts is shelling out some heavy cash to settle a class action filed by disgruntled customers.Pinkberry chief executive Ron Graves said Thursday that the frozen yogurt chain had settled the suit over whether its product was, technically, frozen yogurt.

Pinkberry acknowledged that it didn’t follow state guidelines requiring frozen yogurt to be made off-site, not in stores. Graves said the product is now mixed in a dairy.

As part of the settlement, Pinkberry will give $750,000 to two Southern California charities.

The LA Times reports:

Prosecutors have long been shielded from lawsuits brought by people who were wrongly convicted. Even if a defendant is later shown to be entirely innocent, the prosecutor who brought the charges cannot be held liable for the mistake.The Supreme Court has ruled that “absolute immunity” is needed so that prosecutors — and judges — can do their jobs without fear of legal retaliation.

But a California case that the high court is considering taking could open a back door for such lawsuits. Prosecutors in Los Angeles are urging the court to block a suit from a man who was wrongly convicted of murder because, they say, it will allow “a potential flood” of similar claims across the nation.