
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.
News & Developments
News
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 manufacturers. In amicus (or friend-of-the-court) briefs filed in connection with a challenge brought by death-row prisoner Russell Bucklew (pictured) to Missouri’s use of lethal injection, the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) — a professional association representing generic and biosimilar drug manufacturers and distributors — and eighteen pharmacy, medicine, and health policy experts warn that questionable state practices in…
Read MoreNews
Nov 08, 2023
Utah Judge Hears Argument in Prisoners’ Lawsuit Against Execution Protocol
On October 26, 2023, Judge Coral Sanchez of Utah’s Third Circuit Court heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by five death-sentenced prisoners against the State in April. Ralph Menzies, Troy Kell, Michael Archuleta, Douglas Carter, and Taberon Honie seek an order vacating Utah’s current execution protocol and enjoining its use. The lawsuit argues that the State’s two-pronged protocol, with lethal injection as the default method of execution and firing squad as a backup, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in both methods and is therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. At…
Read MoreNews
Sep 21, 2023
South Carolina Ready to Resume Executions by Lethal Injection After Acquiring Drugs
On September 19th, 2023, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Department of Corrections issued a joint statement informing the public that the state is “now prepared” to carry out lethal injection executions, as they have retained the drug needed to do so. Gov. McMaster and Department of Corrections officials filed a brief with the South Carolina Supreme Court, notifying the courts of their procurement of pentobarbital, a sedative that can be lethal in high doses, and asking for a resumption of executions. In his press release, Gov.…
Read MoreNews
Sep 15, 2023
Some Medical Supply Manufacturers Ban Use of IV Equipment in Lethal Injection Executions
According to a September 14, 2023, article from The Intercept, four medical supply manufacturers are refusing to sell their equipment for use in lethal injection executions. This limitation may further hamper the ability of states to carry out executions, as a multitude of pharmaceutical companies have already placed restrictions on selling their drugs to departments of correction. Joining these companies are Baxter International Inc., B. Braun Medical Inc., Fresenius Kabi, and Johnson & Johnson. Not only do these companies produce the drugs needed for lethal injection, but they also develop…
Read MoreNews
Aug 17, 2023
Death-Sentenced Prisoner Aubrey Trail Waives Appeals and Petitions Nebraska for Execution Date Despite Unavailability of Lethal Injection Drugs
On August 8, 2023, death-sentenced prisoner Aubrey Trail petitioned the state to set his execution date. Currently, there are 10 others on death row in Nebraska, but the state does not possess the necessary lethal injection drugs for any executions. Nebraska has not executed anyone in more than five years. The last person executed was Carey Dean Moore in 2018 via lethal injection. Mr. Trail confessed to the 2017 killing of Sydney Loofe and was sentenced to death by a three-judge panel in 2021. In a letter to the Lincoln Star…
Read MoreNews
Jul 27, 2023
Alabama executes James Barber as SCOTUS denies a stay
On July 21, 2023, Alabama death row prisoner James Barber was executed two hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his motion for a stay in a 6 – 3 decision. This marks the state’s first execution since a series of three botched executions in 2022 and an internal investigation into the Alabama Department of Corrections’ (ADOC) execution protocol.
Read MoreNews
Jul 18, 2023
Ohio Joins Fifteen Other States Without an Execution in 5 Years
Today marks the five-year anniversary of Ohio’s last execution, which took place on July 18, 2018. Ohio now joins 15 other states without an execution in the past five years. Although there is no formal moratorium, Governor Mike DeWine has issued several reprieves due to concerns about the lethal injection protocol and the difficulty the state has had obtaining lethal injection drugs. Ohio has executed 56 people in the modern death penalty era, placing it 8th overall in the number of executions in the United States.
Read MoreNews
May 08, 2023
Family Sues Alabama Over ‘Longest Known Execution in U.S. History’
On May 3, 2023, the family of Joe Nathan James (pictured) sued the state of Alabama for the pain and suffering it caused during his three-hour-long lethal injection in 2022. It is believed to be the longest known execution in U.S. history. The suit asserts that “the execution team failed to execute Mr. James in a manner that comports with the U.S. Constitution, the Alabama Constitution, and applicable state law.”
Read MoreNews
May 02, 2023
As Tennessee Legislature Ends, Two Death-Penalty Bills Fail and One Passes
Bills to alter the state’s method of execution and to make the execution process more transparent failed in Tennessee’s legislature this year as its session concluded. In an effort to facilitate executions bogged down by the state’s problems with lethal injection, a bill was proposed to give prisoners the option of the firing squad for their execution. Following an independent investigation into Tennessee’s lethal injection protocols, Governor Bill Lee ® had suspended executions on January 5, 2023.
Read MoreNews
Apr 28, 2023
South Carolina Advances Legislation to Keep Execution Details Secret
Bills to hide the identities of lethal-injection drug suppliers and execution team members from the public have passed both chambers of the South Carolina legislature. The bills face a reconciliation process before one can move to the governor’s desk for signature. Proponents of the law say it is necessary because revealing such information might make executions difficult or impossible. South Carolina has not carried out an execution in 12 years. Opponents say the public has the right to know about government actions.
Read MoreNews
Feb 13, 2023
Local Church Leaders Across Alabama Speak Out About State’s Death Penalty Process
In a letter to Governor Kay Ivey (pictured) of Alabama, over 170 local faith leaders from many denominations and traditions across the state asked her to commit to a “comprehensive, independent, and external review of Alabama’s death penalty procedures” in the wake of a series of botched executions. The church representatives thanked the governor for pausing executions but urged her to ensure transparency and independence in reviewing how Alabama performs executions.
Read More