In Arkansas, the lethal injection comprises three chemicals: midazolam, to sedate; vecuronium bromide, to paralyse the muscles; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart.
Each of these is delivered at a dose that could theoretically kill the inmate; however, each drug has drawbacks. At the time of execution, the inmate is strapped to a gurney, and IV tubes are inserted into both arms. The Arkansas procedure uses two IV sites.
This is partly to protect against 'vein failure'. The first drug given to the inmate is midazolam, a sedative, which is administered to render the inmate unconscious and prevent them from feeling any suffering. Midazolam is a benzodiazepine. At low doses it has an anti-anxiety effect. At around 10mg, it knocks the inmate unconscious. On death row in Arkansas, the dose is mg. The drug travels up the arm via the bloodstream to the brain. Within seconds, the inmate starts to black out.
It has been alleged, however, that some inmates who received midazolam have appeared to regain consciousness mid-execution. During the execution of Dennis McGuire in Ohio, which used a combination of 10mg midazolam and 40mg hydromorphone, McGuire was seen 'gasping' for air for 10 to 13 minutes of the minute execution. There were reportedly similar scenes during the execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona.
An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution of Kenneth Williams in Arkansas in April reported that Williams lurched and convulsed 20 times after the injection of midazolam.
Or, more to the point, even if the protocol was followed, the protocol was fundamentally flawed. Arkansas's governor, Asa Hutchinson, dismissed the calls. Separately, in a legal challenge brought by several death row inmates in Oklahoma, numerous experts testified that midazolam has no pain-relieving properties, and does not produce the deep, coma-like state of unconsciousness necessary to relieve suffering.
Placing the inmate in a state of deep unconsciousness is critical because the effects of the other drugs used in the lethal injection are believed to be extremely unpleasant. Once the inmate is confirmed unconscious, mg vecuronium bromide is administered into their other arm.
Vecuronium bromide is used clinically in anaesthesia to paralyse the muscles — causing them to relax — so that surgery can be performed. Lethal Injection. All medical witnesses to describe pulmonary edema agreed it was painful, both physically and emotionally, inducing a sense of drowning and the attendant panic and terror, much as would occur with the torture tactic known as waterboarding. Tags: Lethal Injection. Related Resources. Recent News. More news. In December , Arizona abandoned its use of midazolam in either a two-drug or a three-drug protocol.
Three states have, at some point, proposed using midazolam in a two-drug protocol Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma but none of those states has followed through with that formula. Some states have proposed multiple protocols. Missouri administered midazolam to inmates as a sedative before the official execution protocol began. Nevada has also announced that it will use fentanyl in combination with other drugs to carry out executions.
South Dakota carried out 2 executions in October , obtaining drugs from compounders. Missouri first used pentobarbital from a compounding pharmacy in the November 20, execution of Joseph Franklin. Texas first used pentobarbital from a compounding pharmacy in the execution of Michael Yowell on October 9, Georgia used drugs from an unnamed compounding pharmacy for an execution on June 17, Oklahoma has used drugs from compounding pharmacies in executions, including in the botched execution of Lockett.
Virginia first used compounded pentobarbital obtained through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the execution of Alfredo Prieto on October 1,
0コメント