Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:28:08 GMT -5
Doctor says ethics stopped him from aiding execution
Just hours before the February execution of a condemned inmate, state
officials told two anesthesiologists they would have to intervene if the
prisoner was not properly sedated, prompting them to bow out and the
execution to be called off, one of the doctors said.
Dr. Robert Singler testified at a federal court hearing looking at whether
California's lethal injection method is unconstitutionally cruel that he
initially volunteered to stand by inmate Michael Morales and watch him die
because he was confident that the state's 3-drug protocol would be humane
and effective. But he objected after learning he may have to direct prison
staffers to ensure Morales was unconscious before two other lethal drugs
were administered, he said.
"I had a responsibility to rescue a botched execution," Singler, of Queen
of the Valley Hospital in Napa, testified Thursday. "I just didn't feel
like getting painted as an executioner."
He said the other volunteer anesthesiologist, who was not named, also came
to the same conclusion that they would be violating the Hippocratic Oath
by participating.
Singler's account was the 1st time it became publicly known why Morales,
who is challenging the state's method of lethal injection, is still alive.
His testimony came on the 3rd of a 4-day hearing before U.S. District
Judge Jeremy Fogel, who placed a moratorium on state executions in
February. Fogel said he found "substantial evidence" in medical logs
suggesting that the last 6 men executed in San Quentin State Prison might
have been conscious - and therefore subjected to unnecessary pain -
because they were still breathing when the lethal drugs were administered.
California, like most of the 37 states with lethal injection, uses a
three-drug thingytail to execute. First a sedative, then a paralyzing agent
and final a heart-stopping dose, a process that takes about 12 minutes
once the drugs begin flowing.
Earlier Thursday, a pharmacist testified condemned killers are knocked
unconscious in the first minute of their execution and do not feel pain
under the state's current method of lethal injection. San Quentin uses
seven to eight times the dose of a sedative given to open heart surgery
patients, said Brent Elkin, who testified on behalf of prosecutors who
argue the state's current method is humane.
"I think this is well above the dose for adequate sedation," said Elkin,
of the Hanford Community Medical Center. "They would have no pain
recognition at all."
Morales, 46, is on death row for kidnapping, torturing and raping
17-year-old Terri Winchell of Stockton 25 years ago.
In February, Fogel ordered 2 licensed anesthesiologists to ensure Morales
was unconscious. Or, he said, the prison could kill by sedative overdose
if it was injected by a medical professional. After Singler and the other
anesthesiologist bowed out, Fogel called the hearing to determine if the
state's procedure must be altered.
Attorneys for Morales rested their case after a different anesthesiologist
said Wednesday that errors by prison staffers with no medical background
may leave inmates conscious and in excruciating pain masked by drugs. He
said inmates could feel as if they are drowning, but observers would not
be able to tell.
Dr. Mark Heath of Columbia University said an anesthesiologist should be
on hand to make sure the inmate is unconscious, but said it was unethical
to do so and added he had never attended an execution.
State prosecutors have acknowledged some problems with past executions,
but say the method is not unconstitutional.
Fogel asked Heath whether executing condemned murderers by only injecting
a large dose of a sedative instead of the 3-drug thingytail would guarantee
a painless death if administered properly. If there were no mishaps, Heath
said, "It would work properly."
The case is Morales v. Tilton, 06-219.
(source: Associated Press)
Just hours before the February execution of a condemned inmate, state
officials told two anesthesiologists they would have to intervene if the
prisoner was not properly sedated, prompting them to bow out and the
execution to be called off, one of the doctors said.
Dr. Robert Singler testified at a federal court hearing looking at whether
California's lethal injection method is unconstitutionally cruel that he
initially volunteered to stand by inmate Michael Morales and watch him die
because he was confident that the state's 3-drug protocol would be humane
and effective. But he objected after learning he may have to direct prison
staffers to ensure Morales was unconscious before two other lethal drugs
were administered, he said.
"I had a responsibility to rescue a botched execution," Singler, of Queen
of the Valley Hospital in Napa, testified Thursday. "I just didn't feel
like getting painted as an executioner."
He said the other volunteer anesthesiologist, who was not named, also came
to the same conclusion that they would be violating the Hippocratic Oath
by participating.
Singler's account was the 1st time it became publicly known why Morales,
who is challenging the state's method of lethal injection, is still alive.
His testimony came on the 3rd of a 4-day hearing before U.S. District
Judge Jeremy Fogel, who placed a moratorium on state executions in
February. Fogel said he found "substantial evidence" in medical logs
suggesting that the last 6 men executed in San Quentin State Prison might
have been conscious - and therefore subjected to unnecessary pain -
because they were still breathing when the lethal drugs were administered.
California, like most of the 37 states with lethal injection, uses a
three-drug thingytail to execute. First a sedative, then a paralyzing agent
and final a heart-stopping dose, a process that takes about 12 minutes
once the drugs begin flowing.
Earlier Thursday, a pharmacist testified condemned killers are knocked
unconscious in the first minute of their execution and do not feel pain
under the state's current method of lethal injection. San Quentin uses
seven to eight times the dose of a sedative given to open heart surgery
patients, said Brent Elkin, who testified on behalf of prosecutors who
argue the state's current method is humane.
"I think this is well above the dose for adequate sedation," said Elkin,
of the Hanford Community Medical Center. "They would have no pain
recognition at all."
Morales, 46, is on death row for kidnapping, torturing and raping
17-year-old Terri Winchell of Stockton 25 years ago.
In February, Fogel ordered 2 licensed anesthesiologists to ensure Morales
was unconscious. Or, he said, the prison could kill by sedative overdose
if it was injected by a medical professional. After Singler and the other
anesthesiologist bowed out, Fogel called the hearing to determine if the
state's procedure must be altered.
Attorneys for Morales rested their case after a different anesthesiologist
said Wednesday that errors by prison staffers with no medical background
may leave inmates conscious and in excruciating pain masked by drugs. He
said inmates could feel as if they are drowning, but observers would not
be able to tell.
Dr. Mark Heath of Columbia University said an anesthesiologist should be
on hand to make sure the inmate is unconscious, but said it was unethical
to do so and added he had never attended an execution.
State prosecutors have acknowledged some problems with past executions,
but say the method is not unconstitutional.
Fogel asked Heath whether executing condemned murderers by only injecting
a large dose of a sedative instead of the 3-drug thingytail would guarantee
a painless death if administered properly. If there were no mishaps, Heath
said, "It would work properly."
The case is Morales v. Tilton, 06-219.
(source: Associated Press)