Health & Medicine
Could Lethal Injection Soon Receive the Death Penalty?
Thomas Carannante
First Posted: May 28, 2014 12:55 PM EDT
Lethal injection is the primary method of execution for those receiving the death penalty in the United States. But despite it being the primary method, lethal injection has come under scrutiny as of late due to botched executions.
According to the Stanford University Press, lethal injection has the highest botched execution percentage rate out of all forms of legal executions. With a 7.1% botched attempt rate, the primary method for the death penalty leads lethal gassing (5.4%), hanging (3.1%), electrocution (1.9%), and firing squad (0%). This means that the drugs don't effectively do their job, causing what many call "cruel and unusual punishment" upon those receiving the penalty.
The most recent case in Oklahoma featured the execution of Clayton Lockett, who was sentenced to die in 2000 for raping and killing two teenage women. Oklahoma was the site of the United States' first lethal injection in 1977. On April 29 at 6:30 p.m., Lockett was set to receive lethal injection.
Lethal injection is administered through a 3-drug combination: the first injection is an anesthetic, the second is a paralytic agent, and the third stops the heart and results in death. Although some other states have recently adopted a one-drug method for lethal injections, most states still use the 3-drug combo. But this method has proved to lack absolute effectiveness in some lethal injections.
After Lockett received the sedative injection, he was declared unconscious and the next two compounds were administered. But six minutes later, he started writhing and grimacing, lifting his head and shoulders off of the table, muttering words nobody could understand. The drugs were not doing the job, so the prison officials stopped the execution. A few moments later, Lockett died of a heart attack.
Researchers believe that the chemicals involved in the lethal injection do not take into account differences in weight, age, or physical condition of the person being executed. This could have been the issue with Lockett. Additionally, drug manufacturers don't want their name or products associated with lethal injection, so states get the drugs from "compounding pharmacies," which might not be completely reliable. A study conducted by the American Chemical Society elaborates more upon the lethal injection issue in a news release.
Lethal injection is likely to undergo some sort of reform if such happenings continue, but as of now it will remain the primary method for execution. You can read more about lethal injection on the Death Penalty Information Center website.
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First Posted: May 28, 2014 12:55 PM EDT
Lethal injection is the primary method of execution for those receiving the death penalty in the United States. But despite it being the primary method, lethal injection has come under scrutiny as of late due to botched executions.
According to the Stanford University Press, lethal injection has the highest botched execution percentage rate out of all forms of legal executions. With a 7.1% botched attempt rate, the primary method for the death penalty leads lethal gassing (5.4%), hanging (3.1%), electrocution (1.9%), and firing squad (0%). This means that the drugs don't effectively do their job, causing what many call "cruel and unusual punishment" upon those receiving the penalty.
The most recent case in Oklahoma featured the execution of Clayton Lockett, who was sentenced to die in 2000 for raping and killing two teenage women. Oklahoma was the site of the United States' first lethal injection in 1977. On April 29 at 6:30 p.m., Lockett was set to receive lethal injection.
Lethal injection is administered through a 3-drug combination: the first injection is an anesthetic, the second is a paralytic agent, and the third stops the heart and results in death. Although some other states have recently adopted a one-drug method for lethal injections, most states still use the 3-drug combo. But this method has proved to lack absolute effectiveness in some lethal injections.
After Lockett received the sedative injection, he was declared unconscious and the next two compounds were administered. But six minutes later, he started writhing and grimacing, lifting his head and shoulders off of the table, muttering words nobody could understand. The drugs were not doing the job, so the prison officials stopped the execution. A few moments later, Lockett died of a heart attack.
Researchers believe that the chemicals involved in the lethal injection do not take into account differences in weight, age, or physical condition of the person being executed. This could have been the issue with Lockett. Additionally, drug manufacturers don't want their name or products associated with lethal injection, so states get the drugs from "compounding pharmacies," which might not be completely reliable. A study conducted by the American Chemical Society elaborates more upon the lethal injection issue in a news release.
Lethal injection is likely to undergo some sort of reform if such happenings continue, but as of now it will remain the primary method for execution. You can read more about lethal injection on the Death Penalty Information Center website.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone