Death row inmate to appeal

THE US Supreme Court has ruled that a death row inmate can pursue an appeal on the grounds that lethal injection would be cruel and unusual punishment.

David Larry Nelson says his veins damaged by drug use make it impossible to inject him without cutting deep into his flesh.

His appeal has prompted other inmates to challenge this method of execution.

Nelson was less than three hours from execution last year when the Supreme Court gave him a temporary reprieve.

He has been on death row since 1982, when he was convicted of a double murder in Alabama.

In a unanimous ruling, the court said Nelson should be allowed to argue that unless special precautions were taken, his execution would be unconstitutionally harsh.

Many US states use lethal injections because they regard them as a more humane method of execution.