Posted on 10/27/2010 10:10:10 AM PDT by managusta
The state of Arizona executed a convicted murderer on Tuesday night despite objections from attorneys that the state would use a non-approved drug from overseas for the lethal injection.
Just hours before Jeffrey Landrigan's death, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to lift a stay issued by a federal judge to halt the execution.
"There is no evidence in the record to suggest that the drug obtained from a foreign source is unsafe," the Supreme Court said
Due to a U.S. shortage, the state turned to a non-FDA approved drug. It was later revealed that the source was the U.K., although the actual company that makes the drug is still unknown.
Experts argue the practice raises concerns about the effectiveness of the drug. It may also cause difficulties for executions in the 35 states that allow them, as those on death row challenge the use of drugs not approved by the feds.
"The impact could be huge," Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
With Yoko Ono screech-singing in the background.
The execution is a three step process:
Sodium thiopental: ultra-short action barbiturate, an anaesthetic agent capable of rendering the prisoner unconscious in a few seconds.
Pancuronium: non-depolarizing muscle relaxant, causes complete, fast and sustained paralysis of the skeletal striated muscles, including the diaphragm and the rest of the respiratory muscles; this would eventually cause death by asphyxiation.
Potassium chloride: stops the heart, and thus causes death by cardiac arrest.
The drug in question is Sodium thiopental, a prescription barbituate, which is used to render the prisoner unconscious before the injection of the (more) fatal drugs. The dose of Sodium thiopental used in executions is several times the theraputic dosage, so the prisoner is certifiably, undeniably, reliably dead. They couldn’t get any from the only U.S. manufacturer, to they went on line and got some from the UK.
I was trying to make the point there was no reason to require FDA approval even if the drug is considered unsafe at lower dosages.
There is an Army Field Manual on executions. In making a scaffold, selecting a rope and tying a noose, you have to considered the weight of the condemned convict. Too much of a drop and you may pull his head off (messy), too little, he will be slowly affixiated rather than dying quickly of a broken neck. The coughing and sputtering can be uncomfortable for the executioners and the witnesses. An exceptionally heavy convict may require a stronger rope and beam. Leave nothing to chance.
There is a legitimate concern that it might be ineffective and the convict would be conscious when the lethal components are applied. Nothing that will keep me awake at nights, though.
Why, it could kill them!!!! Someone think of the CHILDREN!!!!
Maybe they meant the criminal would be safely dead but then this is the legal system speaking.
Let him file an appeal from hell !
How did Moore get that fat if he eshews McDonalds and similar fast food fare? Patedefauxgras, lobster in drawn butter, fried truffles, jugs of heavy egg nog?
You miss the point. The point is to add hours to the lawyers bill to the state.
Beating a dead horse even to the point it is but a pink pulp means billable hours. It is more or less free money
The comments in that article are simply bizarre!
Would a physician, veterinarian, or other health professional explain to me why they cannot use the overdose of an anesthetic that is used to put pets “to sleep.” I have seen this used twice on my old, very sick dogs and it provided a quick, apparently painless death, maybe five seconds between injection and death.
Common sense has long fled the world of PC. How can anyone take these frickin’ idiots seriously? Why didn’t someone in authority simply break out laughing and demand that these people be locked up for their own safety and for that of others.
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