U.S. Executions by Lethal Injection May Not Be Humane

HealthDay ^ | 4/14/05 | HealthDay

[Sax]

Health - HealthDay

U.S. Executions by Lethal Injection May Not Be Humane

1 hour, 3 minutes ago Health - HealthDay

THURSDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- Prisoner executions by lethal injection in the United States may not be painless or humane, and may not even meet veterinary standards for putting down animals.

So claims a research letter in this week's issue of The Lancet.

The authors concluded that prisoners executed by lethal injection may have experienced awareness and unnecessary suffering as they died because they weren't properly sedated. Anesthesia during lethal injection is essential to minimize the prisoner's suffering.

Lethal injection involves sequential administration of sodium thiopental for anesthesia, pancuronium bromide to induce paralysis, and then potassium chloride to stop the heart and cause death. If anesthesia wasn't used, the condemned prisoner would suffocate and experience excruciating pain without being able to move.

Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine analyzed execution protocol information from Texas and Virginia, which account for about 45 percent of executions in the United States. They found that executioners had no training in anesthesia; the drugs were administered remotely with no monitoring of the anesthesia; and there was no data collection, no documentation of anesthesia, and no post-procedure peer review.

The authors also analyzed toxicology reports from 49 prisoners executed in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In 43 of the 49 cases, the authors found blood concentrations of the anesthetic sodium thiopental were lower than that required for surgery. In 21 cases, the concentrations were low enough to be consistent with awareness on the part of the prisoner during execution.

"Our data suggest that anesthesia methods in lethal injection in the U.S. are flawed. Failures in protocol design, implementation, monitoring and review might have led to unnecessary suffering of at least some of those executed," lead researcher Leonidas Koniaris said in a prepared statement. His team believes current death row practices might not even meet standard veterinary guidelines for putting down animals.

"Because participation of doctors in protocol design or execution is ethically prohibited, adequate anesthesia cannot be certain. Therefore to prevent unnecessary cruelty and suffering, cessation and public review of lethal injection is warranted," Koniaris said.

More information

The Death Penalty Informaton Center has more on the various methods of prisoner execution in the United States.

[Sthitch]

But shooting a small store owner, or raping and killing a woman is humane. Now I get it.

[XenaLee]

AND since it's been declared to be euphoric and a beauty enhancement, as well! Just ask Felos.

[XenaLee]

OR....maybe we could work a deal with our Russkie friends for a foreign prisoner exchange program in Siberia.

[Imaverygooddriver]

He`s right, the ACLU supports evil, that`s exactly what they are all about. If someone is evil, you can bet the ACLU will be there in a second to support them. Child rape club NAMBLA needs lawyers? There was the ACLU giving them lawyers. Terrorists who try to mass murder people feeling uncomfortable? There is the ACLU complaining about it. But an innocent woman who was on absolutely no life support, unless you call food and water "life support", couldn`t die of starvation and dehydration fast enough for the ACLU.

[JoeFromSidney]

Actually I think executions should be done by putting the criminal in a sealed chamber and flooding it with pure nitrogen. There have been a number of industrial accidents in which people mistakenly entered an area full of nitrogen and didn't realize they were dying from lack of oxygen, since the nitrogen doesn't cause feelings of suffocation. Anyone in a pure nitrogen atmosphere just passes out and dies painlessly within a few minutes. Those who have been rescued before they died reported they weren't even aware that something was going wrong.

[Sax]

Hmmm, get your patent on your new chamber quick!

I've heard of free divers, and champion breath holders who hyperventilated for minutes before going underwater, passed out without warning while underwater because they had fooled the body's natural warning systems. This seems to be a related principal.

How expensive is nitrogen? Could this be used in slaughterhouses? (another patent.)

[Red6]

I agree. A BIG bullet (12.7mm) square between the eyes is messy but for sure painless, quick and guaranteed effective while being cheap.

We could do as with cattle and a bolt (adapted for human usage). Set it up so the head can’t move and bullet always finds its mark. Keep it simple, cheap and effective. Keep out all the ritualized governmental BS. There is no reason for that.

I see the guy being strapped down and wheeled in (In case he can’t or don’t want to walk), pushed into a funnel like system in a room where people can watch if they so choose. Waiting a second and not knowing what hit him, a 50 cal round blows his head apart. Set up easy to clean, safe, and cheap, with the ability to be viewed, this I think is very primitive but the best way to do it. All this lethal injection is euphemistical BS. Just like the guillotine and the electric chair (Touted as “humane ways” to execute in their time) lethal injection is eyewash.

We even have exploding 50 cal rounds today.

Red6

[Lion in Winter]

"I propose that we replace lethal injection with starvation and dehydration, since that has been declared to be humane."

You took the words right outta' keyboard!!

[Lion in Winter]

"I propose that we replace lethal injection with starvation and dehydration, since that has been declared to be humane."

You took the words right outta'MY keyboard!!