Executions
Lethal Injection
Though lethal injection has been used for a majority of the executions carried out in the modern era, it is plagued by problematic executions and controversy.
DPIC Report: Behind the Curtain
Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States
Overview
All states and the federal government use lethal injection as their primary method of execution. Jurisdictions use a variety of protocols typically employing one, two, or three drugs. Most three-drug protocols use an anesthetic or sedative, followed by a drug to paralyze the inmate, and finally a drug to stop the heart. The one and two-drug protocols typically use an overdose of an anesthetic or sedative to cause death.
Although the constitutionality of lethal injection has been upheld by the Supreme Court, the specific applications used in states continues to be widely challenged prior to each execution. Because it is increasingly difficult to obtain the drugs used in earlier executions, states have resorted to experimenting with new drugs and drug combinations to carry out executions, resulting in numerous prolonged and painful executions. States are also turning to previously discarded forms of execution, such as the electric chair and gas chamber, in the event that lethal drugs cannot be obtained.
At Issue
Even though the issues surrounding lethal injection are far from settled, states are attempting to cut off debate by concealing their execution practices under a veil of secrecy. Recently passed laws bar the public from learning the sources of lethal drugs being used, making it impossible to judge the reliability of the manufacturer or the possible expiration of these drugs.
What DPIC Offers
DPIC has state-by-state summaries of the methods of execution currently in place and the types of drugs used in each execution in the past ten years. A recent DPIC report covers the execution secrecy laws that have been imposed in many states. Statements from various pharmaceutical companies barring the use of their drugs in executions are also provided.
Jul 27, 2018
Public Health Experts, Generic-Pharmaceuticals Association Warn Lethal-Injection Policies Put Public Health at Risk
State lethal-injection practices may have collateral consequences that place public health at risk, according to briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on July 23, 2018 by public health experts and an association representing generic drug manufact…
Read MoreNews & Developments
Botched Executions
Sep 26, 2022
Federal Court Orders Alabama to Preserve Evidence of Botched Attempted Execution of Alan Miller
A federal district court has ordered Alabama state officials to preserve evidence related to the state’s failed attempt to execute death-row prisoner Alan Miller on September 22, 2022. The botched execution attempt, Alabama’s third since 2018, cam…
Methods of Execution
Sep 21, 2022
Alabama Federal Court Issues Injunction Halting Execution of Alan Miller
A federal district court issued an order on September 19, 2022 to halt the scheduled September 22, 2022 execution of Alabama death-row prisoner Alan Miller “by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia,” leading to …
Executions Overview
Aug 18, 2022
South Carolina Court Set to Rule on Prisoners’ Challenge to Electric Chair and Firing Squad Executions After Completion of Methods of Execution Trial
A decision on the constitutionality of South Carolina’s newly adopted execution methods now rests in the hands a trial court judge after lawyers for death-row prisoners and the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) prese…
Executions Overview
Aug 16, 2022
Private Autopsy Documents ‘Carnage’ Experienced by Alabama Death-Row Prisoner Joe Nathan James During Longest Botched Lethal-Injection Execution in History
A private autopsy of Alabama death-row prisoner Joe Nathan James, Jr. suggests that unqualified corrections personnel subjected him to a torturous, hours-long execution process in a botched execution that experts …
Botched Executions
Jul 29, 2022
Alabama Execution of Joe Nathan James Marred by Failures to Set IV Line, Embarrassing Dress-Code Controversy, and Disrespect of Victim’s Family
Alabama put Joe Nathan James, Jr. to death on July 28, 2022 against the wishes of his victim’s family in an execution marred by an hours-long failure to set a lethal-injection intravenous line and an embarrassing …
United States Supreme Court
Jun 27, 2022
Supreme Court Preserves Death-Row Prisoners’ Ability to Challenge Execution Methods in Federal Civil Rights Lawsuits
In a 5 – 4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the long-standing practice of using federal civil rights suits to challenge state execution methods. The Court ruled in favor of death-row prisoner Michael Nance,…
Executions Overview
Jun 23, 2022
Tennessee Executions Could Be on Hold for Years Following Independent Investigation, Anticipated Court Challenges
Tennessee executions could be on hold for years, as the state conducts an independent investigation into widespread non-compliance with its execution protocol and litigates the constitutionality of revisions expected to be made to…
Botched Executions
Jun 15, 2022
Witness: In ‘Surreal’ Event, Possibly Innocent Death-Row Prisoner Helped Arizona Executioners Find a Vein After They Failed to Set IV Line
At his June 8, 2022 execution in Arizona, Frank Atwood helped prison officials find a suitable vein for the IV line that would administer the lethal-injection drugs to end his life. Jimmy Jenkins, a reporter at th…
Lethal Injection
Jun 09, 2022
Federal Judge Upholds Oklahoma Lethal-Injection Protocol, Rejecting Prisoners’ Evidence of Torturous Executions
Judge Stephen Friot (pictured) of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma has ruled that Oklahoma’s lethal-injection protocol is constitutional. After holding a week-long hearing on the state…
Innocence
Jun 07, 2022
Federal Courts Deny Arizona Prisoner’s Lethal-Injection Challenge and Request to Present New Evidence of Innocence
Federal courts denied relief in two lawsuits brought by Arizona death-row prisoner Frank Atwood, clearing the path for his execution on June 8, 2022. Atwood had sought an opportunity to present new evidence of his innocence, but the U.S. Court of …
