So Long as They Die

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Summary

We didn’t discuss pain and suffering.

—William Henry Lloyd, Tennessee Department of Corrections lethal injection protocol

committee member1

Compared to electrocution, lethal gas, or hanging, death by lethal injection appears

painless and humane, perhaps because it mimics a medical procedure. More palatable to

the general public, lethal injection has become the most prevalent form of execution in

the United States. Thirty-seven of the thirty-eight death penalty states and the federal

government have adopted it; for nineteen states, it is the only legal method of execution.

In the standard method of lethal injection used in the United States, the prisoner lies

strapped to a gurney, a catheter with an intravenous line attached is inserted into his

vein, and three drugs are injected into the line by executioners hidden behind a wall. The

first drug is an anesthetic (sodium thiopental), followed by a paralytic agent

(pancuronium bromide), and, finally, a drug that causes the heart to stop beating

(potassium chloride).

Although supporters of lethal injection believe the prisoner dies painlessly, there is

mounting evidence that prisoners may have experienced excruciating pain during their

executions. This should not be surprising given that corrections agencies have not taken

the steps necessary to ensure a painless execution. They use a sequence of drugs and a

method of administration that were created with minimal expertise and little deliberation

three decades ago, and that were then adopted unquestioningly by state officials with no

medical or scientific background. Little has changed since then. As a result, prisoners in

the United States are executed by means that the American Veterinary Medical

Association regards as too cruel to use on dogs and cats.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all circumstances. But until the

thirty-eight death penalty states and the federal government abolish the death penalty,

international human rights law requires them to use execution methods that will produce

the least possible physical and mental suffering. It is not enough for public officials to

believe that lethal injection is inherently more humane than the electric chair. States must

choose carefully among possible drugs and administration procedures to be sure they

1 Deposition, Abdur'Rahman v. Sundquist, et al., Case. No. 02-2236-III, April 4, 2003, p. 28.

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have developed the specific protocol that will reduce, to the greatest extent possible, the

prisoner’s risk of mental or physical agony.