Lethal Injections And The Involvement Of Medical Personnel

Medical practitioners traditionally do not inject the criminal with the cocktail used in lethal injections. They are typically done by others outside the medical profession, which could potentially lead to botched

The State of Texas was the first to perform a lethal injection execution and it is ranked first in executions as far back as 1976. Approximately, there have been over two hundred and eighty death penalties and a hundred and sixteen executions from 1982. Lethal injection involves injecting one or a variety of drugs into the person for the main cause of immediate death to him or her ("Texas | Death Penalty Information Center"). Characteristically, three drugs have been used. Sodium thiopental is an anesthesia which causes sleep, injecting with pancuronium bromide for paralysis of the muscles and to cause respiratory failure and the potassium chloride stops the heart from pumping. An intravenous salty drip is started in the arm of the prisoner

Lethal injections have been around for many years with the same basic idea and procedure. Lethal injection uses three drugs, a fast acting barbiturate that sedates the inmate and the drug Tubocurarine that paralyzes the inmate, and finally potassium chloride is used to stop his heart. These methods have been a controversial issue for many reasons. People that supports lethal injection believes that it is more humane method of execution than any other because it cause little or no pain. It also argued that it is less expensive than detaining or placing someone in jail for life. As far as lethal injection been unconstitutional because the procedure causes unusual pain and suffering, some people believe that someone who has kill countless people deserve to physical

After the barbiturate anesthetic sodium drug is administered, inmates are given pancuronium bromide (Hooper, 2006). This drug stops the inmates breathing and then stops the heart from beating, but because the inmate is paralyzed and cannot breathe, he or she would not be able to let anyone know the pain they may be going through (Hooper). Even with all these variables in place that can potentially cause great pain to the inmate receiving the lethal dosage, it is still considered the most humane way to carry out the death penalty among the states (Hooper). Hooper also states that the actual time of death of the inmate may not come until 30 to 45 minutes after the first shot was given to the inmate.

Lethal injection is the practice of killing a death row inmate by using a lethal dose of drugs, however, the many problems with lethal injection include it not resulting in an immediate death, the lack of available drugs, and complaints from inmates. In fact, executions using lethal injection have lasted over 20 minutes, with the inmate moaning, convulsing, and gasping for air. A federal judge in Mississippi blocked lethal injection executions after 2 death row prisoners claimed it to be "chemical torture." Also, lawyers of death row prisoners in Tennessee argued that lethal injection is unconstitutional because of the horrendous and painful deaths that results from this method of execution. On the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that "the Constitution does not require the avoidance of all risk of pain." The opposition argues that there is no right or wrong way to execute death row prisoners, whether or not lethal injection is humane, these prisoners are going to and should be executed for the crimes they have committed. In this case, the most sense would to be to choose the cheapest and most effective method of execution, which is not lethal injection. Drugs can no longer be purchased from European drug makers but now have to be purchased from American pharmacists where these specific drugs are not subject to the Food and Drug Administration. These pharmacists are also displeased with trade

Physician assisted suicide has been a controversial topic all over the world for many years. In the article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide Betrays Human Dignity and Violates Equality Before the Law," author Ryan Anderson believes this choice goes against religious beliefs, that it is inhumane and makes the weak more vulnerable. Others, like author Patti Waldmeir, believe that this is a choice that should be offered to the ones suffering from a terminal illness, as stated in her article, "Oregon's right-to-die act tests reach of federal law over lethal drug doses." This is not a choice that is forced onto patients, it is just a final resort to the ones that cannot live another day in agony. Regardless

The controversy issue is due to the medical moral dilemma (Maerz, 2009). Lethal injection requires the administration of professional doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists. The U.S. constitution require the execution to be humane, the American Board of Anesthesiology prohibits anesthesiologists to participate (George, 2011). Medical professionals do not want to participate in the execution due to critics. Abolitionists think that it is against the medical professionals to administer lethal injection or to have any involvement as it is viewed as going against the Hippocratic oath, American Medial Association, and the American Board of Anesthesiology (Maerz, 2009). The distress faced by the medical team has led a few professionals to have any involvement with the death penalty. If professionals do not administer the drug then unqualified individuals will have to carry out the execution. The issue with allowing non-medical individuals participate is the little education obtained and little experience resulting in poor quality in the execution (George, 2011). Medical professionals know the amount of substance the inmate is to be injected with and where on the vein (Maerz, 2009). Anesthesiologists make sure the inmate is anesthetized before proceeding to the following step. States have tried to keep the identity of medical professionals involved confidential to

In this article, it talks how the government carries out executions, not merely to its choice of particular execution methods. and execution method such as lethal injection that can be humane in theory and can be carried out by means of flawed or haphazard procedures that create a foreseeable danger of inflicting severe pain in actual practice. Also, it said in the article that over time in the absence of adequate safeguards, such a method of execution will inevitably involve the infliction of gratuitous pain in some executions. The Inflicting gratuitous pain on a subset of condemned prisoners is no more tolerable than inflicting gratuitous pain on all condemned prisoners.

Lethal injection is now almost the main method of execution in the US, with all but one of the 39 executions carried out during 2013 being by this method. Deadly injection changes from state to state.Normally, the prisoner is strapped to a gurney or a fixed execution table, rather than an operating room table by leather or webbing straps over the body and legs. All the chemicals used in the USA are standard medical drugs. Sodium thiopental is an ultra short acting barbiturate which was used widely as an anaesthetic and causes unconsciousness very quickly if injected into a vein."Capital punishment is supposed to serve the purposes of social defense and retribution. The argument that it deters or incapacitates dangerous offenders was not conclusively supported, and analysis of data herein failed to provide solid evidence for the death penalty as a mechanism of social defense."(Sorensen & Pilgrim,2006 , p.159)

The method of using lethal injection has now become the primary method of execution, throughout all fifty states and the federal government, after being declared constitutional in 1977. There are three different procedures; the one or two drug protocol typically uses a lethal dose of an anesthetic or sedative. The three drug protocol uses an anesthetic or sedative, which is then followed by pancuronium bromide to paralyze the inmate and potassium chloride to stop the inmate’s heart. In the case of Glossip v. Gross, Oklahoma death row inmates argued that the use of the three drug protocol in Oklahoma is “an injunction against the eighth amendment” (White) which put limitations on sentences and any cruel or unusual punishment. In Oklahoma, it

In society today, capital punishment is not usually seen as favorable. The supposedly painless lethal injection, given to death row inmates in states that still allow capital punishment, can be seen as a more

Only one is necessary to carry out the execution; the other is reserved as a backup in the event the primary line fails. A line leading from the IV line in an adjacent room is attached to the prisoner's IV, and secured so the line does not snap during the injections.The arm of the condemned person is swabbed with alcohol before the cannula is inserted. The needles and equipment used are sterilized. There have been questions about why these precautions against infection are performed despite the purpose of the injection being death. The IV needles are sterilized during manufacture, so the use of sterilized needles is obviously routine medical procedure. Secondly, there is a chance that the prisoner could receive a stay of execution after the needles have been inserted, as happened in the case of James Autry in October 1983, though he was then eventually executed on March 14, 1984. It would be hazardous to prison personnel/staff to use unsterilized equipment. Following, consecutively, connection of the lines, saline drips are started in both arms; this also being standard medical procedure. It is 100% required that IV lines are not blocked, and cannot get blocked. Ensuring, the chemicals have not leaked in the IV lines and blocked the needle, prohibiting the drugs from reaching the subject. A heart monitor is adhered, so prison officials can determine when death has taken

Lethal injection uses three chemicals that are injected through an IV; thiopental which induces unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the muscles, and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest. These three chemicals combine can stop a person’s heart in less than two minutes. (Denno 2) It was created by medical examiner and pathologist Jay Chapman, later known as “Chapman’s Cocktail”(Dyer) Many states turned to this method of execution because it was cheaper than the electric chair, the gas chamber, or any other methods used

The role of a physician participating in an execution does not actually consist of injecting the prisoner with the lethal dose of medications. The role for a physicians during an execution is to: start an intravenous line, maintain the intravenous line, and to overall prevent any medical mistakes that could cause pain to the prisoners. In recent times, it is prohibited for physicians to participate in executions due to the American Medical Association. Physicians are able to attend these executions but they are to have very limited input. For the physicians that do go against the AMA and have some type of role in an execution always wish to remain anonymous.

In recent years the thought of exactions has become more immoral. More people see that in doing so the execution could be painful or unlawful. Over the years the style of being executed has been changed, from beheading, hanging, and stoning to death now the most applicable way is lethal injection. Simply the person affiliated will be put to sleep, then the body will go into a paralytic state and lastly the lungs will stop working. Stating there are no harm to come and no pain, making this the only efficient way to carry out lethal injections. Unfortunately, there is pain and agony when it comes to the lethal injection. Many times, the one overseeing the injection will get the amounts wrong and the patient could be conscious and expressive.