Death Penalty Panel Is Nearly Finished

Death Penalty Panel Is Nearly Finished

Published Sunday, February 25, 2007
TAMPA

Death row inmates' consciousness must be monitored throughout executions and those administering lethal injections require additional training, a committee reviewing the issue said Saturday.

Not every member of the Governor's Commission on Administration of Lethal Injection agreed with the preliminary recommendations.

Dr. David Varlotta, an anesthesiologist who is one of 11 commission members, said executioners require advanced medical training, but an individual with such qualifications would be breaching their own profession's ethical code.

Other panel members disagreed. "Individuals who served as executioners when Florida had the electric chair as a means of executions didn't necessarily have to be electricians," said Rodney Doss, director of victim services for the state Attorney General's Office.