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
Mar 09, 2020
Media and Legal Organizations Urge Idaho Supreme Court to Require Execution Transparency
Saying that states have “no compelling need” to keep execution information secret, the American Bar Association (ABA) has asked the Idaho Supreme Court to require the state to disclose numerous execution-related d…
Mar 02, 2020
Oklahoma Prisoners Challenge New Execution Protocol in Federal Court
Less than two weeks after Oklahoma officials announced that the state would return to the same controversial three-drug execution protocol implicated in a series of botched executions in 2014 and 2015, the state’s death-row prison…
Feb 20, 2020
Nebraska Bill to Make Executions More Transparent Advances in Legislature
Nebraska’s unicameral legislature voted on February 13, 2020 to advance a bill that would increase transparency in the state’s execution process.
Feb 18, 2020
As Execution Dates Approach, Tennessee Prisoners Challenge Execution Method
Tennessee has scheduled three upcoming executions, despite ongoing litigation surrounding the use of its lethal injection protocol and problems with its lethal-injection drugs that have led five prisoners to opt for death by elect…
Jan 16, 2020
Appeals Court Hears Argument on Injunction that Halted Federal Executions
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard nearly two hours of argument on January 15, 2020 in four consolidated cases that could determine whether the federal government will be able to resume executions in 2020. …
Jan 15, 2020
As Texas Prepares for First Execution of 2020, Oklahoma Marks Five Years with No Executions
As Texas prepared to carry out the first execution of 2020 on January 15, neighboring Oklahoma — once the second most prolific executioner in the United States — marked five years since its last execution. The sta…
Dec 07, 2019
Supreme Court Ruling Halts Scheduled Federal Executions
The United States Supreme Court has denied an application by the U.S. Department of Justice to lift a federal court injunction blocking the federal government from carrying out four executions scheduled for December 2019 and January 2020. The Cour…
Dec 03, 2019
Department of Justice Lawyers Ask the U.S. Supreme Court to Intervene After Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Lift Injunction Against Federal Executions
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the United States Supreme Court to…
Nov 21, 2019
Washington District Court Enjoins U.S. Government From Carrying Out Federal Executions
A federal judge in Washington has issued a preliminary injunction barring the United States government from carrying out four executions sc…
Nov 04, 2019
South Dakota Prisoner Executed After Supreme Court Denies Review of Anti-Gay Bias, Denial of Mental Health Expert
Whether South Dakota death-row prisoner Charles Rhines (pictured) …
