Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 5:55:45 GMT -5
Some Lethal Injections May Have Been 'Excruciating'
Inmates executed by lethal injection in California may have been conscious
when they were administered a drug that induces suffocation and an
"excruciating'' experience comparable to drowning or strangulation, an
anesthesiologist who has reviewed state execution logs testified today.
Mark Heath, a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical
School, said the logs showed that some of those executed were still
breathing several minutes after prison personnel administered pancuronium
bromide, a paralytic agent and the 2nd of 3 drugs used in lethal
injections in California and 3 dozen other states.
"If someone is breathing like that, they may not be in a deep plane of
anesthesia. They may not even be unconscious,'' Heath said on the 2nd day
of a hearing before U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel on a challenge to
California's lethal injection procedures by death row inmate Michael
Morales.
His attorneys contend that the state procedure violates the U.S.
Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. As Heath
was testifying, attorney Ginger Anders displayed a copy of a prison log of
the execution of Robert Massey, which showed that Massey continued to
breathe for 4 minutes after the pancuronium was administered.
Heath also presented a withering portrayal of California's procedures for
executing condemned prisoners, based on his review of prison records,
depositions of execution team members and other material obtained by
attorneys for Morales.
Among other things, Heath said members of the execution team were ignorant
about the properties of the drugs they were using and failed to administer
the required dose of the anesthetic sodium thiopental, which is meant to
deaden the inmate to the pain of the paralytic.
In response to a question about what she knew about the anesthetic, a
registered nurse on the execution team said, "I don't study. I just do the
job. I don't want to know about it,'' according to a deposition read by
Anders.
Heath said he was very disturbed by the response: "You can't understand
and appreciate the dangers if you don't know how the drug works.''
Heath also said he was troubled by a discussion between corrections
officials and the governor's representatives about changing the lethal
injection protocol to address concerns Fogel voiced when Morales'
execution was postponed last spring. According to notes taken by attorney
Bruce Slevin, a doctor who works for the Corrections Department suggested
that the state use a different, longer-lasting and more effective
anesthetic.
But lawyers in the meeting spurned Dr. Robert Singler's idea, saying they
believed the state should not change course because the 3 drug protocol
had been upheld by courts. Instead, they suggested that the procedure be
"tweaked,'' according to Slevin's notes.
Heath said this was "not a medically valid reason.'' Heath added: "The
priority should be to make sure it is humane. If we make sure it is
humane, a court is not going to stop'' the state from conducting lethal
injection executions, Heath concluded.
On Tuesday, an expert on pharmacology said the drug used to anesthetize
inmates wears off "extremely fast" and potentially exposes prisoners to
painful deaths.
The four-day trial here is one of several court proceedings around the
nation in which lethal injection is under challenge as a violation of the
U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Executions have
been put on hold in California pending the outcome of the litigation,
brought by Morales, who was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of
Terri Winchell, 17, in Lodi.
Judge Fogel has stressed that condemned inmates are not entitled under the
Constitution to a painless death.
(source for both: Los Angeles Times)
Inmates executed by lethal injection in California may have been conscious
when they were administered a drug that induces suffocation and an
"excruciating'' experience comparable to drowning or strangulation, an
anesthesiologist who has reviewed state execution logs testified today.
Mark Heath, a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical
School, said the logs showed that some of those executed were still
breathing several minutes after prison personnel administered pancuronium
bromide, a paralytic agent and the 2nd of 3 drugs used in lethal
injections in California and 3 dozen other states.
"If someone is breathing like that, they may not be in a deep plane of
anesthesia. They may not even be unconscious,'' Heath said on the 2nd day
of a hearing before U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel on a challenge to
California's lethal injection procedures by death row inmate Michael
Morales.
His attorneys contend that the state procedure violates the U.S.
Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. As Heath
was testifying, attorney Ginger Anders displayed a copy of a prison log of
the execution of Robert Massey, which showed that Massey continued to
breathe for 4 minutes after the pancuronium was administered.
Heath also presented a withering portrayal of California's procedures for
executing condemned prisoners, based on his review of prison records,
depositions of execution team members and other material obtained by
attorneys for Morales.
Among other things, Heath said members of the execution team were ignorant
about the properties of the drugs they were using and failed to administer
the required dose of the anesthetic sodium thiopental, which is meant to
deaden the inmate to the pain of the paralytic.
In response to a question about what she knew about the anesthetic, a
registered nurse on the execution team said, "I don't study. I just do the
job. I don't want to know about it,'' according to a deposition read by
Anders.
Heath said he was very disturbed by the response: "You can't understand
and appreciate the dangers if you don't know how the drug works.''
Heath also said he was troubled by a discussion between corrections
officials and the governor's representatives about changing the lethal
injection protocol to address concerns Fogel voiced when Morales'
execution was postponed last spring. According to notes taken by attorney
Bruce Slevin, a doctor who works for the Corrections Department suggested
that the state use a different, longer-lasting and more effective
anesthetic.
But lawyers in the meeting spurned Dr. Robert Singler's idea, saying they
believed the state should not change course because the 3 drug protocol
had been upheld by courts. Instead, they suggested that the procedure be
"tweaked,'' according to Slevin's notes.
Heath said this was "not a medically valid reason.'' Heath added: "The
priority should be to make sure it is humane. If we make sure it is
humane, a court is not going to stop'' the state from conducting lethal
injection executions, Heath concluded.
On Tuesday, an expert on pharmacology said the drug used to anesthetize
inmates wears off "extremely fast" and potentially exposes prisoners to
painful deaths.
The four-day trial here is one of several court proceedings around the
nation in which lethal injection is under challenge as a violation of the
U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Executions have
been put on hold in California pending the outcome of the litigation,
brought by Morales, who was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of
Terri Winchell, 17, in Lodi.
Judge Fogel has stressed that condemned inmates are not entitled under the
Constitution to a painless death.
(source for both: Los Angeles Times)