Lethal Injection

OVERVIEW

All states and the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment use lethal injec­tion as their pri­ma­ry method of exe­cu­tion. States use a vari­ety of pro­to­cols using one, two, or three drugs. The three-drug pro­to­col uses an anes­thet­ic or seda­tive, typ­i­cal­ly fol­lowed by pan­curo­ni­um bro­mide to par­a­lyze the inmate and potas­si­um chlo­ride to stop the inmate’s heart. The one or two-drug pro­to­cols typ­i­cal­ly use a lethal dose of an anes­thet­ic or sedative.

State-By-State lethal injec­tion infor­ma­tion (includes links to avail­able state execution protocols)

Information on Compounding Pharmacies

Constitutional Issue — U.S. Supreme Court Review of Lethal-Injection Cases

Statements from drug man­u­fac­tur­ers and medical professionals

Executions, includ­ing drugs used: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

Lethal Injection News & Developments — 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012

Articles and reports , includ­ing media cov­er­age and infor­ma­tion about secrecy

Official actions and court cases

RELATED DPIC RESOURCES

M eth­ods of Execution by State (includes alter­na­tive meth­ods inmates may choose)

Botched Executions — includ­ing descrip­tions of the flawed lethal injec­tions in 2014 in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arizona

Death Penalty in Flux (states where exe­cu­tions are on hold)

Picture of DreamPharma , inter­na­tion­al source for drugs used in some U.S. executions

​“Lethal injec­tion scram­ble” map from ACLU of Northern California shows which states have obtained sodi­um thiopen­tal from for­eign sources, and includes infor­ma­tion on price and quan­ti­ty of drugs and DEA seizures

Baze v. Rees — Excerpts from the Supreme Court Opinion in Baze v. Rees

Earlier state actions

NON-DPIC RESOURCES

Lethal Injection Information Center (Initiative of Reprieve)

Lethal Injection Project (Component of the Death Penalty Clinic at U.C. Berkeley School of Law)

Glossip v. Gross web­site (Discussion of 2015 Supreme Court case)

Statements from drug manufacturers and other medical professionals

• American Nurses Association Position Statement on Capital Punishment and Nurses’ Participation in Capital Punishment (Dec. 2016); American Nurses Association Position on Nurse Participation in Executions (Jan. 28, 2010)
• STATEMENT FROM ATHENEX, pro­duc­er of mida­zo­lam obtained by the state of Arkansas, oppos­ing the use of any of its prod­ucts in cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment (Nov. 8, 2017)
• STATEMENT FROM JANSSEN, A DIVISION OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON, which cre­at­ed the drug eto­mi­date, but no longer man­u­fac­ters it, speak­ing out against use of its med­i­cines in lethal injec­tions for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment (Aug. 21, 2017) 
• STATEMENT FROM PFIZER oppos­ing the use of its prod­ucts in exe­cu­tions (May 13, 2016) (updat­ed Feb. 2, 2017)
• STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION dis­cour­ag­ing mem­ber par­tic­i­pa­tion in exe­cu­tions (March 30, 2015)
• STATEMENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF COMPOUNDING PHARMACISTS, dis­cour­ag­ing mem­bers from pro­vid­ing drugs for exe­cu­tions (March 24, 2015)
• STATEMENT FROM AKORN, pro­duc­er of mida­zo­lam and hydro­mor­phone, on oppo­si­tion to the use of their prod­uct in exe­cu­tions (March 4, 2015)
• STATEMENT FROM ROCHE, pro­duc­er of mida­zo­lam, on oppo­si­tion to the use of their prod­uct in exe­cu­tions (January 16, 2015)
• Affidavit from Dr. Kent Dively, anes­the­si­ol­o­gist, on the exe­cu­tion of Dennis McGuire in Ohio (August 4, 2014)
• STATEMENT FROM PAR PHARMACEUTICALS, mak­er of Brevital, announc­ing mea­sures to block the use of their drug in exe­cu­tions. (May 27, 2014)
• Physicians, Medical Ethics, and Execution by Lethal Injection, Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Robert Truog, I. Glenn Cohen, JD, and Dr. Mark Rockoff (May 19, 2014)
• STATEMENT FROM THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT on the exe­cu­tion of Clayton Lockett, signed by 13 cor­rec­tion­al offi­cials call­ing for a full inde­pen­dent inquiry (April 30, 2014)
• STATEMENT FROM THE MISSOURI SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS on the use of propo­fol in exe­cu­tions (September 26, 2013).
• STATEMENT FROM HIKMA, mak­er of phe­no­bar­bi­tal, announc­ing mea­sures to keep their drug from being used in exe­cu­tions. (May 15, 2013).
• STATEMENT FROM FRESENIUS KABI, mak­er of propo­fol, announc­ing mea­sures to keep their drug from being used in exe­cu­tions. Read the full arti­cle from the Associated Press (September 28, 2012).
• STATEMENT FROM 25 PROMINENT EUROPEAN DOCTORS in an open let­ter to Hospira’s President Michael Ball, ask­ing him to restrict dis­tri­b­u­tion of pan­curo­ni­um bro­mide, a mus­cle relax­ant that is used as the 2^nd drug in many lethal injec­tions. (Jan. 7, 2012).
• TRANSFER OF PENTOBARBITAL MANUFACTURE FROM DENMARK TO U.S.: Akorn, Inc., a phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal com­pa­ny based in Lake Forest, Illinois, has acquired man­u­fac­tur­ing rights for pen­to­bar­bi­tal from Lundbeck, Inc. According to the Associated Press, the ​“dis­tri­b­u­tion sys­tem meant to keep the drug out of the hands of pris­ons will remain in place.” (A. Welsh-Huggins, ​“Lundbeck Sells Pentobarbital Rights,” Associated Press, December 21, 2011)
• STATEMENT FROM LUNDBECK, INC., mak­er of pen­to­bar­bi­tal, on dis­tri­b­u­tion restric­tions to pre­vent use in exe­cu­tions (July 1, 2011)
• Open let­ter from over 60 doc­tors to the CEO of Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals, call­ing for actions to pre­vent the use of pen­to­bar­bi­tal in exe­cu­tions (The Lancet, June 9, 2011) 
• STATEMENT FROM LUNDBECK, INC., mak­er of pen­to­bar­bi­tal, on the use of their drugs for exe­cu­tions. (Jan. 26, 2011)
• STATEMENT FROM HOSPIRA, sole U.S. man­u­fac­tur­er of thiopen­tal sodi­um, on their end­ing of their pro­duc­tion of this drug. (Jan. 21, 2011)
• American Board of Anesthesiology Forbidding Participation by Members in Executions (April 2, 2010)
• STATEMENT FROM HOSPIRA, sole U.S. man­u­fac­tur­er of thiopen­tal sodi­um, on the use of their drugs for exe­cu­tions. (Mar. 31, 2010)
• Other Statements from medical organizations

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Articles and Reports

• Comity, Finality, and Oklahoma’s Lethal Injection Protocol, Jon Yorke, Oklahoma Law Review (2017)
• Legally Indefensible: Requiring Death Row Prisoners to Prove Available Execution Alternatives, Megan McCracken, The Champion (January/​February 2017). 
• Through the Glass Darkly: What Oklahoma’s Lethal Injection Regime Tells Us about Secrecy, Incompetence, Disregard and Experimentation Nationwide, Megan McCracken and Jennifer Moreno, ABA Human Rights Magazine (2016 – 2017 Vol. 42). 
• American Bar Association Resolution 108B call­ing for all death penal­ty juris­dic­tions ​“to pro­mul­gate exe­cu­tion pro­to­cols in an open and trans­par­ent man­ner and require pub­lic review and com­ment pri­or to final adop­tion of any exe­cu­tion pro­to­col, and require dis­clo­sure to the pub­lic by all rel­e­vant agen­cies of all rel­e­vant infor­ma­tion regard­ing exe­cu­tion pro­ce­dures.” (February 9, 2015).
• If Oregon Can Give Death With Dignity, Why Can’t Death Row?, Tamara Tabo, Above the Law (November 24, 2014)
• What 13 States Aren’t Telling You About How They Execute Prisoners, Tasneem Nashrulla, Buzzfeed (June 16, 2014)
• Glance: Execution Drug Secrecy in 5 States, Associated Press (April 5, 2014)
• Oklahoma halts dou­ble exe­cu­tion after one is botched, Matt Pearce, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, and Paresh Dave, Los Angeles Times (April 29, 2014)
• Executions Stall as States Seek Different Drugs, Manny Fernandez, New York Times (November 8, 2013)
• Europe Pushes to Keep Lethal Injection Drugs From U.S. Prisons, Makiko Kitamura and Adi Narayan, Bloomberg Businessweek (February 7, 2013)
• Lethal injec­tion drug access could put exe­cu­tions on hold, Kimberley Leonard, iWatch News (April 4, 2012)
• Cost of exe­cu­tions sky­rock­et­ing in Texas, oth­er states, Mike Ward, Austin American-Statesman (February 23, 2012)
• Ohio faces snags in exe­cu­tion sys­tem, Andrew Welsh-Huggins (AP), cov­er­ing Ohio’s new­ly-sug­gest­ed back­up exe­cu­tion pro­to­col, which would use two drugs pre­vi­ous­ly untest­ed in lethal injec­tions (August 31, 2011)
• Inside the evolv­ing mar­ket for lethal injec­tion drugs, Rina Palta, KALW News (November 10, 2010)
• Cruel and Usual?: Is Capital Punishment by Lethal Injection Quick and Painless?, Larry Greenmeier, Scientific American (October 27, 2010)
• Death-row drug dilem­ma, Emma Marris, Nature (January 27, 2011)
• Execution by Lethal Injection: A Quarter Century of State Killing, Amnesty International (October 2007)
• But Can it Be Fixed? A Look at Constitutional Challenges to Lethal Injection Executions, Ellen Kreizberg and David Richter, Santa Clara University School of Law, Legal Studies Research Papers Series, Working Paper No. 07 – 28 (June 2007); 47 Santa Clara L. Rev. 445 (2007).
• The Lethal Injection Quandary: How Medicine Has Dismantled the Death Penalty, Deborah Denno, Fordham Legal Studies Research Paper No. 983732 (May 1, 2007); 76 Fordham L. Rev. 49 (2007).
• The Chaos Behind California Executions, Henry Weinstein and Maura Dolan, L.A. Times, Oct. 2, 2006 (hear­ings in California on lethal injections).
• Lethal Incompetence, Ty Alper (Boalt School of Law), The Champion, Sept.-Oct. 2006.
• Finding Bickel Gold in a Hill of Beans, Douglas Berman, Cato Supreme Court Review, 2006 (on the legal ram­i­fi­ca­tions of Hill v. Crosby).
• When Legislatures Delegate Death: The Troubling Paradox Behind State Uses of Electrocution and Lethal Injection and What It Says About Us, Deborah Denno, 63 Ohio State Law Journal 63 (2002)
• Human Rights Watch Report on Lethal Injection
  • Human Rights Watch Letter to Gov. Bush in Hill Case
• See also Executions News & Developments

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Official actions and court cases

• Report from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety on the exe­cu­tion of Clayton Lockett (Sept. 4, 2014)

QUOTATIONS FROM THE OKLAHOMA REPORT:

• General Counsel Mullins fur­ther told Director Patton that they would begin prepar­ing a stay at the direc­tion of the Governor. Lockett died pri­or to the order for a stay being relayed to the per­son­nel inside the exe­cu­tion cham­ber. There was con­ver­sa­tion inside the cham­ber about admin­is­ter­ing life-sav­ing mea­sures to Lockett, includ­ing trans­port­ing him to the emer­gency room, but no order was given.

• Autopsy report on Clayton Lockett (August 28, 2014)
• STATEMENT FROM ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS on their review of the exe­cu­tion of Joseph Wood (July 25, 2014)
• Log of Joseph Wood’s Execution from Arizona Department of Corrections (July 23, 2014)
• Stay Order for Joseph Wood from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (lat­er over­turned by the U.S. Supreme Court) (July 19, 2014); Chief Judge Kozinski of the 9^th Circuit dis­sent­ing from the denial of rehear­ing en banc (July 21, 2014)
• Ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, find­ing that the FDA failed to ful­fill its duties when it allowed, with­out inspec­tion, the impor­ta­tion of sodi­um thiopen­tal for use in exe­cu­tions (Cook v. FDA, July 23, 2013, affirm­ing in part Beaty v. FDA (below)). Read DPIC post­ing.
• Beaty v. FDA, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, March 27, 2012. Read DPIC post­ing on the case.
• Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from attor­neys for Georgia death row inmate alleg­ing ille­gal impor­ta­tion of sodi­um thiopen­tal. (Feb. 24, 2011)
• Response from attor­neys who filed suit against the FDA to the let­ter from the state AGs to Eric Holder (Feb. 16, 2011).
• Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from 13 state attor­neys gen­er­al request­ing help in secur­ing lethal injec­tion drugs (January 25, 2011) Response from Attorney General Eric Holder (March 4, 2011)
• STATEMENT FROM THE U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION con­cern­ing the impor­ta­tion of lethal injec­tion drugs (Jan. 4, 2011)
• Selected ear­li­er legal developments

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