The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered the state of Arizona not to execute a man named Joseph Rudolph Wood on Saturday, unless Arizona reveals “the name and provenance of the drugs to be used in the execution” and “the qualifications of the medical personnel” who will perform the execution. This decision is the latest volley in a multi-state battle over whether states can hide information that could reveal whether they are using contaminated or otherwise unreliable execution drugs that are likely to prolong the execution and cause the inmate unnecessary pain.
States that continue to execute prisoners can no longer easily obtain the drugs they use in order to do so. Many drug manufacturers object to the use of their products to kill people, and they’ve refused to provide drugs for executions. Meanwhile, several foreign governments have imposed regulations on drug exports designed to prevent their use to carry out death sentences. As a result, many states turn to so-called “compounding pharmacies” which may lack the technology to produce uncontaminated doses of execution drugs.
Since states began turning to unreliable sources for execution drugs, often keeping the names of the companies that provide these drugs a secret, there have been a number of high-profile cases where an inmate appeared to suffer tortuous pain during their execution. An Oklahoma inmate named Michael Wilson called out that his “whole body is burning” when he was executed, while an man named Dennis McGuire took almost 25 minutes to die, and he spent his final minutes on earth gasping for air.
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States that continue to execute prisoners can no longer easily obtain the drugs they use in order to do so. Many drug manufacturers object to the use of their products to kill people, and they’ve refused to provide drugs for executions. Meanwhile, several foreign governments have imposed regulations on drug exports designed to prevent their use to carry out death sentences. As a result, many states turn to so-called “compounding pharmacies” which may lack the technology to produce uncontaminated doses of execution drugs.
Since states began turning to unreliable sources for execution drugs, often keeping the names of the companies that provide these drugs a secret, there have been a number of high-profile cases where an inmate appeared to suffer tortuous pain during their execution. An Oklahoma inmate named Michael Wilson called out that his “whole body is burning” when he was executed, while an man named Dennis McGuire took almost 25 minutes to die, and he spent his final minutes on earth gasping for air.
continue to read here
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