Lethal-injection foes mount challenges nationwide

Rapid City Journal July 06, 2007

Lethal-injection foes mount challenges nationwide-----Doctor who devised 3-drug method says changes should be made

The 3-drug method using sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride to perform executions, which will be used for South Dakota inmate Elijah Page's execution next week, has come under attack in several other states for being inhumane and allowing too much room for error.

Ohio and California are 2 of those states.

As of Jan. 1, there were 191 inmates on Ohio's death row, at least 15 of whom are now plaintiffs in Cooey v. Taft, which challenges the constitutionality of Ohio's lethal injection procedures.

Clarence Carter is scheduled to be executed in Ohio the same week Page is scheduled to be executed in South Dakota, but U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost granted Carter a stay of execution while Cooey v. Taft continues to be appealed.

6 more death row inmates in Ohio joined Cooey v. Taft after the May 24 execution of Christopher Newton, 37. It took the guards performing that execution more than 90 minutes to find Newton's veins, and Newton did not die until 16 minutes after the drugs were administered.

Both Newton and Carter were given the death penalty for murdering cellmates, Newton in 2001 and Carter in 1989.

Earlier this week, the mother of Joseph Clark, an Ohio inmate executed in May 2006, sued the head of Ohio's prisons, saying the way her son was executed amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

It took almost 90 minutes to execute Clark, 57, who was sentenced to death in November 1984 for killing a gas station attendant.

During the 1st injection attempt, Clark said, "It don't work," as the execution team attempted to inject the 1st intravenous line.

During the 2nd injection attempt, he said, "Can you just give me something by mouth" to end this?

Executions are supposed to last about 20 minutes.

Of the 36 states that use the death penalty, South Dakota ranks 32nd in number of inmates on death row, with 4. California is 1st, with more than 600 inmates on death row.

Texas still ranks 1st in the number of executions despite ranking 3rd with number of inmates on death row, with about 400.

California death-row inmate Michael Morales, 49, was scheduled to be executed Feb. 21 for the 1981 rape and strangulation murder of 17-year-old Terri Lynn Winchell.

That execution has been stayed indefinitely, and in May, the state of California released a report proposing revisions to that state's lethal-injection process.

The report came in response to U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel's identification of five main deficiencies in California's death-penalty protocol.

Those 5 deficiencies cited were:

* Inconsistent and unreliable screening of execution-team members.

* A lack of meaningful training, supervision and oversight of that team.

* Inconsistent and unreliable record keeping.

* Improper mixing, preparation and administration of the 1st drug (the anesthetic).

* Inadequate lighting, overcrowded conditions and poorly designed facilities.

The state of California's report addressed those 5 deficiencies, and that report awaits legislative action.

On July 1, South Dakota joined the majority of states, when legislation went into effect to specify that a 3-drug combination will be used in all executions, including Page's next week.

Of the 36 states with the death penalty, 27 specifically use a 3-drug combination.

States that do not have specified lethal-injection procedures are Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. New Jersey specifies only using the 1st 2 drugs, without the one that induces cardiac arrest, and North Carolina uses a 3-drug combination despite a law specifying the use of 2.

Critics of the anesthetic used, sodium pentothal, say it does not completely anesthetize all inmates.

If the prisoner is not completely unconscious, critics say he may be able to feel the asphyxiation caused by the 2nd drug, pancuronium bromide, but will likely be unable to cry out in pain.

The doctor who designed the 3-drug lethal injection criticized it in an interview with CNN earlier this year.

That doctor, Jay Chapman, formulated the 3-drug concoction in the 1970s. He told CNN that he now believes some changes should be made.

He said there are drugs available now that were not available in the 1970s and could be used to revamp lethal injection.

He said he would recommend keeping the 3rd drug, potassium chloride, which stops the heart, but would take a look at changing the first 2: the anesthetic and the paralytic agent.

Chapman told CNN that another problem with lethal injection is that those administering it are not trained professionals because ethical oaths prevent medical professionals from participating in executions. As a result, needles often are not properly inserted into an inmate's veins, or administrators take a long time finding a vein, prolonging the execution, such as in Newton's case.
Source: Rapid City Journal