Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:06:29 GMT -5
Allegations of deep flaws in executions----Anesthesiologist testifies in
death penalty hearings
California's executioners are woefully unprepared to perform lethal
injections, a noted anesthesiologist testified in federal court Wednesday
in a hearing prompted by a condemned Stockton man challenging the state's
method of execution.
"It will forever be an unknown in California's history if they've ever
conducted a humane execution," said Dr. Mark Heath, the anesthesiologist
whom attorneys for Stockton's condemned Michael Angelo Morales called to
testify. Morales was not present.
Heath was the sole witness to take the stand Wednesday in 4 days of
hearings this week before U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel. Fogel ordered
the hearing to explore details of lethal injection after the delay to
Morales' Feb. 21 execution.
Morales, 46, was sentenced to death for the 1981 slaying of 17-year-old
Stockton girl Terri Lynn Winchell. Morales' attorneys challenged the
state's lethal injection procedure, claiming it causes excruciating pain
in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Citing allegedly deep flaws, Heath said that key staffers on the execution
team cannot even name the lethal drugs used and never read the state's
execution manual. Heath blamed a dysfunctional prison system for which
they work and not the team members.
San Quentin State Prison staffers lose track of lethal drugs used to
perform executions, which can be intoxicating and addictive if taken in
small amounts, Heath said under questioning by Morales' attorneys. One
executioner was suspended for bringing illegal drugs into the prison,
Heath said.
Aside from poorly trained prison staffers, state officials at the highest
levels made no improvements to the protocol to revise the 3-drug thingytail
when they hastily met in March in the wake of Morales' derailed execution,
Heath said.
"They were looking to cross a legal finish line, not an ethical finish
line," he said.
Heath, who testifies in court hearings challenging lethal injection across
the country, said he believes California's procedure falls within the
bottom 25 % of the nation's protocols, far short of clinical setting under
which anesthesiologists participate in surgeries.
Under cross-examination by Dane Gillette, the state's lead capital
punishment attorney, Heath said he had never witnessed an execution. He
testified that despite ethical barriers, California officials could find
doctor's willing to participate if they did a diligent search.
Gillette maintains that the state's method is constitutional and does not
need to be conducted by medical personnel.
Gillette asked Heath why it was important all execution team members be
familiar with the lethal drugs. Heath said they should know to avoid
handing off the incorrect syringe or to spot any number of problems.
"The fact you asked that question proves you shouldn'tbe involved in
designing the protocol," Heath told Gillette.
Natasha Minsker, death penalty policy director for the American Civil
Liberties Union of Northern California, said outside of court that the
hearings were rich with details portraying deep-seated problems with the
state's capital punishment method.
"It raises questions from the day-to-day management up to what the
priorities are at higher levels and how decisions are made," she said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on any state's method of execution,
but California and a number of other states grappling with the highly
contentious issue could change that, Minsker said.
"I've heard people say the Supreme Court has to weigh in," she said. "You
never know."
The hearing in Fogel's courtroom is expected to continue through Friday.
(source: Stockton Record)
death penalty hearings
California's executioners are woefully unprepared to perform lethal
injections, a noted anesthesiologist testified in federal court Wednesday
in a hearing prompted by a condemned Stockton man challenging the state's
method of execution.
"It will forever be an unknown in California's history if they've ever
conducted a humane execution," said Dr. Mark Heath, the anesthesiologist
whom attorneys for Stockton's condemned Michael Angelo Morales called to
testify. Morales was not present.
Heath was the sole witness to take the stand Wednesday in 4 days of
hearings this week before U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel. Fogel ordered
the hearing to explore details of lethal injection after the delay to
Morales' Feb. 21 execution.
Morales, 46, was sentenced to death for the 1981 slaying of 17-year-old
Stockton girl Terri Lynn Winchell. Morales' attorneys challenged the
state's lethal injection procedure, claiming it causes excruciating pain
in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Citing allegedly deep flaws, Heath said that key staffers on the execution
team cannot even name the lethal drugs used and never read the state's
execution manual. Heath blamed a dysfunctional prison system for which
they work and not the team members.
San Quentin State Prison staffers lose track of lethal drugs used to
perform executions, which can be intoxicating and addictive if taken in
small amounts, Heath said under questioning by Morales' attorneys. One
executioner was suspended for bringing illegal drugs into the prison,
Heath said.
Aside from poorly trained prison staffers, state officials at the highest
levels made no improvements to the protocol to revise the 3-drug thingytail
when they hastily met in March in the wake of Morales' derailed execution,
Heath said.
"They were looking to cross a legal finish line, not an ethical finish
line," he said.
Heath, who testifies in court hearings challenging lethal injection across
the country, said he believes California's procedure falls within the
bottom 25 % of the nation's protocols, far short of clinical setting under
which anesthesiologists participate in surgeries.
Under cross-examination by Dane Gillette, the state's lead capital
punishment attorney, Heath said he had never witnessed an execution. He
testified that despite ethical barriers, California officials could find
doctor's willing to participate if they did a diligent search.
Gillette maintains that the state's method is constitutional and does not
need to be conducted by medical personnel.
Gillette asked Heath why it was important all execution team members be
familiar with the lethal drugs. Heath said they should know to avoid
handing off the incorrect syringe or to spot any number of problems.
"The fact you asked that question proves you shouldn'tbe involved in
designing the protocol," Heath told Gillette.
Natasha Minsker, death penalty policy director for the American Civil
Liberties Union of Northern California, said outside of court that the
hearings were rich with details portraying deep-seated problems with the
state's capital punishment method.
"It raises questions from the day-to-day management up to what the
priorities are at higher levels and how decisions are made," she said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on any state's method of execution,
but California and a number of other states grappling with the highly
contentious issue could change that, Minsker said.
"I've heard people say the Supreme Court has to weigh in," she said. "You
never know."
The hearing in Fogel's courtroom is expected to continue through Friday.
(source: Stockton Record)