9^th Circuit Weighs Lethal Injection Challenge in California

Note: The Court of Appeals denied the chal­lenge to California’s lethal injec­tion process. Just one week before the sched­uled exe­cu­tion of California death row inmate Donald Beardslee, judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit are con­sid­er­ing a suit filed by the ACLU of California, Death Penalty Focus, and Beardslee’s defense attor­neys con­cern­ing the state’s use of a par­a­lyz­ing chem­i­cal called Pavulon in lethal injec­tions. Beardslee’s attor­neys said that Pavulon could pre­vent an inmate from cry­ing out in pain, and that it could mask suf­fer­ing caused by asphyx­i­a­tion and the sear­ing sen­sa­tion caused by the last admin­is­tered chem­i­cal in the lethal injec­tion process, potas­si­um chlo­ride. Some of the judges expressed con­cerns about the state’s secre­tive­ness and lack of detail regard­ing the chem­i­cal: ​“You’re putting us in an awk­ward posi­tion,” said Judge Sidney Thomas to the state’s lawyer. ​“Some oth­er states don’t use it.” Defense attor­neys argued that the pur­pose of includ­ing Pavulon is to keep the pub­lic in the dark about whether the state’s lethal injec­tion method is inhu­mane. A rul­ing is still pend­ing regard­ing this appeal, and a sep­a­rate bid for clemen­cy from the gov­er­nor will be heard soon by the state’s parole board. (Sacramento Bee, January 13, 2005). This would be the 11^th exe­cu­tion in California since the death penal­ty was rein­stat­ed 30 years ago. There are 638 peo­ple on the state’s death row. 

See Methods of Execution and Clemency.