Professor Ty Alper of the Boalt School of Law at Berkeley has written an article for the forthcoming edition of the North Carolina Law Review entitled “The Truth About Physician Participation in Lethal Injection Executions.” Prof. Alper, a noted death penalty expert, reviews the available research and recent litigation on the most widely used method of execution in the U.S., focusing especially on the potential role of doctors in executions. As states are challenged to ensure that inmates do not suffer excruciating pain during lethal injections, Alper contends that physician participation is more plausible than many states are willing to admit. He states that many doctors are willing to and, in fact, do regularly participate in executions. He argues that defense attorneys are obligated to protect their clients from unneccessary pain and that states have exaggerated their inability to find willing doctors. The article may be found here.

(T. Alper, “The Truth About Physician Participation in Lethal Injection Executions,” North Carolina Law Review, 2009 (forthcoming)). See Law Reviews and Lethal Injection.

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