Prolonged execution renews debate over death by lethal injection
11 years, 2 months ago

Prolonged execution renews debate over death by lethal injection

LA Times  

HOUSTON — An Ohio inmate’s drawn-out execution this week led to an outcry about the increased use of new lethal injection drugs by the country’s 32 death penalty states, a practice that experts predict will lead to more problems. His lethal injection was a combination of two drugs never tried before in a U.S. execution, according to experts at the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. McGuire, 53, was sentenced to death for the 1989 rape and stabbing death of Joy Stewart, 22, who was seven months pregnant. A few minutes before McGuire was put to death, Ohio’s prison director, Gary Mohr, said he believed the state’s planning would produce “a humane, dignified execution” consistent with the law. Eight states started using a single lethal dose of pentobarbital in executions, and officials in five more states said they planned to do so, according to Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

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History of this topic

Drug Used In Federal Executions May Cause 'Unnecessary Pain And Suffering,' DOJ Says
2 months, 1 week ago

Drug Used In Federal Executions May Cause 'Unnecessary Pain And Suffering,' DOJ Says

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is rescinding its protocol for federal executions that allowed for single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital, after a government review raised concerns about the potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering.” Attorney General Merrick Garland’s order to withdraw the lethal injection policy comes days before President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to restart federal …

Drug used in federal executions under Trump may cause ‘unnecessary pain and suffering,’ Garland says
2 months, 1 week ago

Drug used in federal executions under Trump may cause ‘unnecessary pain and suffering,’ Garland says

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is rescinding its protocol for federal executions that allowed for single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital, after a government review raised concerns about the potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering.” Attorney General Merrick Garland’s order to withdraw the lethal injection policy comes days before President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to restart federal executions, is set …

5 executions have happened over a week’s span in the US. That’s the most in decades
6 months ago

5 executions have happened over a week’s span in the US. That’s the most in decades

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Death row inmates in five states have been put to death in the span of one week, an unusually high number of executions that defies a yearslong trend of decline in both the use and support of the death penalty in the U.S. Two more death row inmates, in Missouri and Texas, were pronounced dead Tuesday evening …

Utah scraps untested lethal drug combination for man’s August execution
8 months ago

Utah scraps untested lethal drug combination for man’s August execution

Associated Press  

Utah officials said Saturday that they are scrapping plans to use an untested lethal drug combination in next month’s planned execution of a man in a 1998 murder case. Defense attorneys for Taberon Dave Honie, 49, had sued in state court to stop the use of the drug combination, saying it could cause the defendant “excruciating suffering.” The execution scheduled …

At least 9 dead, dozens treated in Texas capital after spike in opioid overdoses
10 months, 3 weeks ago

At least 9 dead, dozens treated in Texas capital after spike in opioid overdoses

Hindustan Times  

Authorities in Texas are investigating at least nine deaths this week in connection with an unusual spike of opioid overdoses in Austin that health officials are calling the city's worst overdose outbreak in nearly a decade. Preliminary testing showed that all nine people who died had traces of fentanyl in their system and the majority had other drugs present too …

At least 15 people died in Texas after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police
10 months, 3 weeks ago

At least 15 people died in Texas after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police

Associated Press  

At least 15 people died in Texas over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. The deaths were among more than 1,000 that AP’s investigation documented across the United States of people who died after officers used, not their …

Top Tennessee prison officials fired after report finds ‘shocking’ issues with death penalty drugs
2 years, 2 months ago

Top Tennessee prison officials fired after report finds ‘shocking’ issues with death penalty drugs

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two top Tennessee corrections …

Inmates allege Texas plans to use unsafe execution drugs
2 years, 2 months ago

Inmates allege Texas plans to use unsafe execution drugs

Associated Press  

HOUSTON — Texas plans to use expired and unsafe drugs to carry out executions early this year in violation of state law, three death row inmates allege in a lawsuit. Like other states in recent years, Texas has turned to compounding pharmacies to obtain pentobarbital, which it uses for executions, after traditional drugmakers refused to sell their products to prison …

Oklahoma, with a history of botched lethal injections, prepares to start executing a man a month
2 years, 7 months ago

Oklahoma, with a history of botched lethal injections, prepares to start executing a man a month

CNN  

CNN — Oklahoma will soon begin executing death row inmates at a pace of about one man per month, with plans to put to death 25 prisoners over the next two years despite cries by critics and experts who point not only to outstanding questions of the mental fitness or possible innocence of some but also the state’s recent history …

Tennessee execution pause through 2022 could last longer
2 years, 9 months ago

Tennessee execution pause through 2022 could last longer

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After Tennessee Gov. Many of the problems surfaced as part of challenges of Tennessee’s execution process by two death row inmates in federal court. Those cases are on hold until the investigation ordered by Lee concludes — but in the meantime, the state attorney general’s office acknowledged in a May 6 court filing that there may be …

Judge rules Oklahoma’s lethal injection method is constitutional following a legal challenge from dozens of death row prisoners
2 years, 9 months ago

Judge rules Oklahoma’s lethal injection method is constitutional following a legal challenge from dozens of death row prisoners

CNN  

CNN — Four days after a federal court ruled against death row inmates arguing Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol is cruel and unusual, the state’s attorney general asked for more than two dozen executions to be scheduled. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 28 death row prisoners, named officials with multiple Oklahoma corrections agencies and claimed the injection method causes “constitutionally …

House panel demands information on federal execution drug
3 years, 3 months ago

House panel demands information on federal execution drug

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee is demanding the Justice Department provide answers about whether Biden administration officials have any plans to procure the drug used in federal executions despite an ongoing moratorium on capital punishment. Raskin and Pressley want the Justice Department to provide a briefing to the committee’s staff by Dec. 22 about the review that Garland initiated …

South Carolina’s macabre new law won’t make execution any more humane
3 years, 10 months ago

South Carolina’s macabre new law won’t make execution any more humane

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. If lethal injection drugs are unavailable, …

SC delays execution, citing lack of lethal injection drugs
4 years, 3 months ago

SC delays execution, citing lack of lethal injection drugs

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of a death row prisoner after corrections officials said they couldn’t obtain the necessary lethal injection drugs in time. An attorney for the state Department of Corrections wrote in a letter to the South Carolina Supreme Court last week that the agency cannot carry out the execution …

U.S. carries out the first federal execution in nearly two decades
4 years, 8 months ago

U.S. carries out the first federal execution in nearly two decades

LA Times  

The U.S. government on Tuesday carried out the first federal execution in almost two decades, putting to death a man who killed an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I’m not a murderer.. You’re killing an innocent man.” The decision to …

AP Exclusive: New dates set to begin federal executions
4 years, 9 months ago

AP Exclusive: New dates set to begin federal executions

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has set new dates to begin executing federal death-row inmates following a monthslong legal battle over the plan to resume the executions for the first time since 2003. Three of the men had been scheduled to be put to death when Barr announced the federal government would resume executions last year, ending an informal moratorium …

Filing: Emails raise questions of execution drugs access
5 years, 1 month ago

Filing: Emails raise questions of execution drugs access

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Tennessee inmates executed by electrocution and a third who has chosen to die in the electric chair next month were not informed about a problem with a lethal injection drug, even as they chose the chair and waived their rights to challenge execution methods, an attorney for death row inmates wrote in a court filing Tuesday. …

Official: Arizona to resume executions after 5-year hiatus
5 years, 7 months ago

Official: Arizona to resume executions after 5-year hiatus

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizona is poised to resume executions after a five-year hiatus brought on by an execution that critics said was botched, a subsequent lawsuit challenging the way the state carries out the death penalty, and the difficulty of finding lethal injection drugs, Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. “Regardless of where they go to get the drugs for executions, we …

Lethal Injection Drugs' Efficacy And Availability For Federal Executions
5 years, 8 months ago

Lethal Injection Drugs' Efficacy And Availability For Federal Executions

NPR  

Lethal Injection Drugs' Efficacy And Availability For Federal Executions Enlarge this image toggle caption Yuri Gripas/Reuters Yuri Gripas/Reuters The Justice Department's announcement that the federal government will resume its use of capital punishment has raised questions about the drugs it plans to use. In the announcement, Attorney General William Barr said, instead of the usual combination of three drugs, federal …

Texas’ high court keeps execution drug supplier secret
5 years, 11 months ago

Texas’ high court keeps execution drug supplier secret

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — A supplier of Texas’ execution drugs can remain secret under a court ruling Friday that upheld risks of “physical harm” to the pharmacy, ending what state officials called a threat to the entire U.S. death penalty system. Last year, Arizona’s attorney general filed a brief in support of Texas, arguing that disclosing the name of the pharmacy …

Governor says ‘no executions’ without court-backed drugs
6 years ago

Governor says ‘no executions’ without court-backed drugs

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Recent statements and actions by Gov. Last month, the Republican governor ordered the prison system to come up with a new lethal drug protocol after a federal judge’s scathing critique of the first drug in Ohio’s method. Last week, DeWine said Ohio “certainly could have no executions” during that search and the court challenges that would follow …

States Study Use of Fentanyl as Execution Drug
7 years, 2 months ago

States Study Use of Fentanyl as Execution Drug

Huff Post  

By Christopher Zoukis Faced with pharmaceutical supplier refusals, states are having serious difficulty obtaining the lethal drugs used for current execution protocols, so they are increasingly examining alternatives — including fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is in large part responsible for the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic. The difficulty obtaining chemicals needed for current execution protocols has also led some of …

Seven people to be executed in 11 days because lethal injection drugs are about to expire
7 years, 11 months ago

Seven people to be executed in 11 days because lethal injection drugs are about to expire

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Arkansas is preparing to …

Ohio Postpones 8 Executions Amidst Legal Challenge To Lethal Injection Procedure
8 years, 1 month ago

Ohio Postpones 8 Executions Amidst Legal Challenge To Lethal Injection Procedure

NPR  

Ohio Postpones 8 Executions Amidst Legal Challenge To Lethal Injection Procedure Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP Gov. John Kasich has put Ohio executions on hold until May, citing a legal challenge to the state's three-drug lethal injection protocol. After five days of hearings, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Michael Merz blocked three upcoming executions in a …

Some lethal injection problems in US executions
8 years, 3 months ago

Some lethal injection problems in US executions

Associated Press  

Since Texas became the first state to use lethal injection as its execution method on Dec. 7, 1982, some problems have been reported during the process nationwide. Texas inmate Raymond Landry was pronounced dead 40 minutes after being strapped to the execution gurney and 24 minutes after the drugs started flowing into his arms. Indiana inmate Tommie J. Smith’s lethal …

Nevada runs out of lethal injection drug
8 years, 7 months ago

Nevada runs out of lethal injection drug

Al Jazeera  

Nevada’s Department of Corrections says it is asking several companies for supplies of the drug needed for executions. Most states use either a one-drug or three-drug protocol for lethal injections, and it’s unclear which of the two drugs Nevada has run out of. Last year, the state’s Department of Corrections asked for funding for a new execution chamber as the …

Texas fighting order to disclose execution drug supplier
8 years, 10 months ago

Texas fighting order to disclose execution drug supplier

Associated Press  

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — More than a year after a judge ordered Texas to divulge the source of its execution drugs, the information has not been released, legislators passed a state law protecting the prison agency from doing so, and the lengthy appeal that has allowed the provider to remain secret will finally be heard. Texas, the nation’s most active capital …

California proposes new single-drug method for executions
9 years, 4 months ago

California proposes new single-drug method for executions

LA Times  

The lethal injection chamber at San Quentin State Prison that was completed in 2010 but has never been put to use. California unveiled a new method for executing prisoners Friday, proposing a “humane and dignified” single-drug injection protocol that could restart capital punishment after a nearly 10-year hiatus. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation proposed another method and had a …

Feds confiscate lethal-injection drugs imported by 2 states
9 years, 5 months ago

Feds confiscate lethal-injection drugs imported by 2 states

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Federal authorities have confiscated shipments of a lethal-injection chemical that Arizona and Texas tried to bring in from abroad, saying such imports are illegal — a move that compounds the nation’s severe shortage of execution drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it impounded orders of sodium thiopental, an anesthetic that has been used in …

Feds confiscate lethal-injection drugs imported by 2 states
9 years, 5 months ago

Feds confiscate lethal-injection drugs imported by 2 states

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Federal authorities have confiscated shipments of a lethal-injection chemical that Arizona and Texas tried to bring in from abroad, saying such imports are illegal — a move that compounds the nation’s severe shortage of execution drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it impounded orders of sodium thiopental, an anesthetic that has been used in …

High court ruling won’t settle Louisiana execution questions
9 years, 8 months ago

High court ruling won’t settle Louisiana execution questions

Associated Press  

— Disputes about Louisiana’s execution method weren’t settled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday that a controversial drug can continue to be used in lethal injections. But James Hilburn, a lawyer representing the state penitentiary and Corrections Department, said that won’t end an ongoing federal lawsuit by five death row inmates challenging Louisiana’s new execution protocol, which has never …

MAP: Lethal Injection By Far The Most Popular Execution Method In U.S.
9 years, 8 months ago

MAP: Lethal Injection By Far The Most Popular Execution Method In U.S.

NPR  

MAP: Lethal Injection By Far The Most Popular Execution Method In U.S. Enlarge this image toggle caption Pat Sullivan/AP Pat Sullivan/AP States may continue using a popular but controversial drug in lethal injection executions, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-4 decision. Sponsor Message Today, lethal injection is by far the most popular method of execution in US …

Supreme Court Says Use Of Lethal Injection Drug Is Legal
9 years, 8 months ago

Supreme Court Says Use Of Lethal Injection Drug Is Legal

NPR  

Supreme Court Says Use Of Lethal Injection Drug Is Legal Updated at 10:46 a.m. ET The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion, says the sedative used in Oklahoma's lethal injection cocktail does not violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The court ruled Monday that the death row inmates failed to establish that the use of …

Oklahoma executions on hold as US Supreme Court reviews drug
10 years, 1 month ago

Oklahoma executions on hold as US Supreme Court reviews drug

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Executions are on hold in Oklahoma after the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that the state cannot perform executions using a specific drug while the justices consider a challenge over whether the sedative ensures prisoners won’t suffer. Glossip and three other inmates challenged Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedures last year, saying the sedative midazolam might not sufficiently mask …

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate
10 years, 2 months ago

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate

NPR  

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP This past year, the number of inmates executed in America was the lowest in two decades at 35, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. But death penalty states are having increasing difficulty obtaining the drugs they have used to execute inmates because pharmaceutical companies …

2 states conduct executions using single drug
10 years, 7 months ago

2 states conduct executions using single drug

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — Two of the nation’s most active death penalty states have quietly carried on with executions despite a shortage of lethal-injection drugs, turning to pentobarbital, a powerful sedative that generally puts inmates to death swiftly and without complications. “There is a better drug, and that better drug is pentobarbital,” said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the pro-death penalty …

Opinion: This is a civilized society? Three face possible executions this week.
10 years, 9 months ago

Opinion: This is a civilized society? Three face possible executions this week.

LA Times  

In the first executions since Oklahoma in effect tortured a condemned man to death last month, three convicted killers face death by lethal injection this week in cases that reflect the barbaric absurdity of the practice. The first man slated for the gurney is Marcus Wellons, 59, who faces a single massive dose of pentobarbital at 4 p.m. Tuesday in …

Texas execution halted, new appeal granted in unanimous court ruling
10 years, 10 months ago

Texas execution halted, new appeal granted in unanimous court ruling

LA Times  

Hours before Texas could carry out the nation’s first execution since Oklahoma officials botched a lethal injection last month, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a dramatic unanimous ruling Tuesday that halted Robert Campbell’s execution and granted him a new appeal. “The extreme secrecy which surrounded lethal injection in Oklahoma prior to Mr. Lockett’s execution led directly to …

Ohio Will Increase Dosage Of Drugs In Lethal Injection
10 years, 10 months ago

Ohio Will Increase Dosage Of Drugs In Lethal Injection

NPR  

Ohio Will Increase Dosage Of Drugs In Lethal Injection Ohio has concluded that Dennis McGuire did not suffer any pain during his execution last January, the state's Department of Rehabilitation & Correction said Monday. Enlarge this image toggle caption Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction/AP Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction/AP McGuire was executed using a new cocktail of drugs. …

Secrecy surrounds execution drugs in US states
10 years, 11 months ago

Secrecy surrounds execution drugs in US states

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — Dating to the days when the guillotine operator or the hangman wore a mask, a certain amount of anonymity has always surrounded executions. Most states have refused to name the “compounding pharmacies” supplying execution drugs, citing concerns about a backlash that could endanger the supplier’s safety. Last week, an Oklahoma judge voided the state’s execution law, agreeing …

Oklahoma court delays executions over plan to change lethal drugs
11 years ago

Oklahoma court delays executions over plan to change lethal drugs

LA Times  

<i>This post has been updated. See note below.</i> HOUSTON — An Oklahoma appeals court on Tuesday postponed two executions after state officials revealed they were planning to change lethal injection drugs due to a shortage. Oklahoma is one of several death penalty states grappling with the legal ramifications of adjusting lethal injection drugs after major drug makers — many based …

US state readies for fourth execution in four months
11 years ago

US state readies for fourth execution in four months

India TV News  

St Louis: A man convicted of abducting, raping and killing a Kansas City teenager in 1989 will be executed using a lethal drug provided by a new supplier if last-minute appeals on Tuesday don't stay Missouri's fourth execution in as many months. They have also raised concerns that the state executes men before appeals are complete, and claim Taylor's original …

New Drug Combination Takes 24 Minutes To Execute Ohio Killer
11 years, 2 months ago

New Drug Combination Takes 24 Minutes To Execute Ohio Killer

NPR  

New Drug Combination Takes 24 Minutes To Execute Ohio Killer The state of Ohio on Thursday conducted its first execution since running out of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital. Enlarge this image toggle caption Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction/AP Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction/AP McGuire had been given, Johnson adds, "an injection of midazolam, a sedative, and hydromorphone, …

Lacking Lethal Injection Drugs, States Find Untested Backups
11 years, 5 months ago

Lacking Lethal Injection Drugs, States Find Untested Backups

NPR  

Lacking Lethal Injection Drugs, States Find Untested Backups Enlarge this image toggle caption Amber Hunt/AP Amber Hunt/AP The U.S. is facing a shortage of a drug widely used for lethal injections. The move caused a shortage, she says, "which basically led states to search for the drug wherever they could find it." "So if the drugs cannot be validated as …

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know
11 years, 7 months ago

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know

NPR  

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know Enlarge this image toggle caption Ric Feld/AP Ric Feld/AP Several states are dealing with a shortage of lethal injection drugs and have had problems getting enough to carry out executions. The Lethal Injection Secrecy Act says that the identity of people or companies that manufacture, supply or prescribe drugs used …

Calif. gov mulls change to lethal injection method
12 years, 10 months ago

Calif. gov mulls change to lethal injection method

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — In the state’s latest effort to restart long-stalled executions in California, Gov. Brown’s order was disclosed in a two-page appeal of a Marin County judge’s decision to toss out California’s newly developed lethal injection regulations. Lawyers for the state Department of Justice said Thursday they would reconsider the appeal if it becomes certain that sodium thiopental can …

It's official now: Nebraska set to use made-in-India drug in execution
13 years ago

It's official now: Nebraska set to use made-in-India drug in execution

The Hindu  

In the forthcoming week the United States is poised to make execution history by allowing a prison in Nebraska to use a made-in-India chemical for killing a death-row inmate. Yet a U.K.-based anti-death penalty group called Reprieve, which had earlier tracked the NDCS’s efforts to source the drug from a shadowy firm in the United Kingdom, highlighted Mr. Harris’ interactions …

U.S. prison may use India-made execution drug
13 years, 1 month ago

U.S. prison may use India-made execution drug

The Hindu  

When the Nebraska Supreme Court on Thursday issued a stay of execution in favour of death-row inmate Michael Ryan, it was not just Ryan who breathed a sigh of relief but also the proprietors of a pharmaceutical company in faraway Kashipur in Uttarakhand. For, had the execution proceeded as per schedule on March 6, Ryan would have been injected with …

Merchants of death
13 years, 11 months ago

Merchants of death

The Hindu  

Brandon Rhode was not in good shape when he was strapped into the execution chamber gurney on September 27 2010, in Georgia, United States. In a sworn declaration Mark Heath, a medical doctor and an expert witness in lethal injection cases, said: “Given the highly unusual provenance of the thiopental that was used in the Rhode execution, one explanation for …

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