Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer has said it is blocking use of its drugs in lethal injections.

The US Supreme Court has upheld the use of a controversial drug in lethal-injection executions, even as two dissenting justices said for the first time they think it is “highly likely” that the death penalty itself is unconstitutional.

Lethal injection was adopted by the US because it was more ‘humane’ but an EU ban on certain drugs has led to painful and prolonged deaths, writes Leonid Bershidsky.