Friday 24 November 2006

Doctor Continues Critique of Md. Lethal Injection Procedure

Doctor Continues Critique of Md. Lethal Injection Procedure Thursday

November 02, 2006 8:00 pm

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1106/372695.html

An anesthesiologist testified Thursday that during an execution, replacing a nursing assistant who starts the intravenous line used in lethal injections with a nurse anesthetist would put a more highly trained person in position to tell if something went wrong.

Doctor Mark Heath, an anesthesiologist at Columbia University who was called to testify by lawyers for death row inmate Vernon Evans, contends that Maryland's execution team members don't have the medical background to understand the process adequately.

Attorneys for Evans claim Maryland's lethal injection procedure violates the Constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Laura Mullally, an assistant attorney general who is defending the state's procedure, has argued that the current team is well qualified to do a job that is, after all, not a medical procedure.

The hearing continues Friday and closing arguments in the case are scheduled for November 15th.

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