Many States Offer Sedatives to Condemned Inmates Before Execution
COLUMBUS, Ohio Nov 6, 2006 (AP)— Condemned killer David Brewer, who went calmly to his death after acknowledging his guilt, had a little help with his nerves: an anti-anxiety drug.
At least 19 of the country's 38 death penalty states offer sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs to condemned inmates before execution.
"It helps keep the inmate calm and we think that's good, not just for the inmate but for the staff as well," said Brian Hauswirth, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Corrections. Though the practice does not violate national ethics standards for doctors and nurses who prescribe or administer the sedatives, it makes some death penalty opponents uneasy.
Condemned inmates in 11 states have received sedatives or anti-anxiety drugs before executions going back at least 12 years, according to a review by The Associated Press.
Four death penalty states prohibit the drugs, including Texas, which has the country's busiest execution chamber.
Eight of 24 inmates put to death since Ohio resumed executions in 1999 took medication before they died by injection, according to logs of each prisoner's last 24 hours, which were obtained through a public-records request by the AP. Five inmates declined the drugs, and records don't indicate if drugs were offered in the remaining cases.
Prison officials gave Brewer the anti-anxiety drug Ativan three times the day before his execution, and four hours and 17 minutes before he was declared dead on April 29, 2003.
The other drug most commonly given to condemned inmates in Ohio is Vistaril, an antihistamine sometimes prescribed as a sedative. Such drugs are used frequently because they are on the state's list of drugs that medical staff are allowed to prescribe.
Prison logs show that nurses most often deliver the drugs to the inmates. An official with the American Nurses Association expressed concerns about what appeared to be Ohio's routine use of Vistaril.
"Correction nurses should ensure that inmates are evaluated individually and that inmates are not given Vistaril or any drugs on the basis of standing orders," said Laurie Badzek, director of the ANA's Center for Ethics and Human Rights.
A staff doctor or psychiatrist prescribes drugs to inmates on an individual basis only after closely assessing them to see what their mood is and whether the drugs should be offered, said Edwin Voorhies, warden at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, where Ohio's executions take place.
"A great deal of effort goes into preparing the condemned felon mentally for what he's about to face," Voorhies said. "Our goal is to get them to walk peacefully into that chamber."
Officials would not provide details about the drugs and prescriptions, saying they are confidential under state open records law because they are part of inmates' files.
The American Medical Association prohibits doctors from participating in executions but allows them to relieve an inmate's suffering ahead of time, which could include giving someone a tranquilizer.
Physicians who prescribe drugs before an execution are in a gray area ethically, said Jonathan Groner, a surgeon who opposes the death penalty and writes frequently about lethal injection.
"Bringing the physician into arm's reach of the execution chamber lends a veneer of medical respectability to the proceedings," said Groner, an associate professor at Ohio State University's medical school. "I'm personally wary of this illusion of medical healing for the purpose of killing."
The number of executions nationally has declined in recent years from a high of 99 in 1999 to 60 in 2005. There have been 50 so far this year. Almost all executions since 1999 have been by injection; 12 inmates have died by electric chair.
The other states that allow sedation are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and Washington.
Federal prosecutor William Schenck, who oversaw Brewer's execution for choking and stabbing a woman to death, says it's humane to give inmates sedatives if they want them.
"There's no reason to torture anyone or make them go through any kind of terrible anxiety before they're executed," Schenck said.
"Give them a sedative? Give me a break," said Hess, 78, whose son was slain in 1975; his killer did not receive the death penalty. "They did something horrible they don't need any mercy."
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