Florida to hire death doctors

August 5, 2007

FLORIDA will improve training for execution teams and require that they include medical professionals in an attempt to avoid a repeat of a botched December execution.

The changes are the second the state has made since it took 34 minutes - twice as long as normal - for a lethal injection to kill murderer Angel Diaz, 55. An autopsy showed needles had been pushed right through his veins, reducing the effectiveness of the chemicals used.

The first round of changes included better training, establishing a clear chain of command for each execution and additional staffing, but a judge questioned whether this was enough to prevent "pain or lingering death".

Source: The Sun-Herald