Abstract
Anaesthesia during lethal injection is essential to minimise suffering and to maintain public acceptance of the practice. Lethal injection is usually done by sequential administration of thiopental, pancuronium, and potassium chloride. Protocol information from Texas and Virginia showed that executioners had no anaesthesia training, drugs were administered remotely with no monitoring for anaesthesia, data were not recorded and no peer-review was done. Toxicology reports from Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina showed that post-mortem concentrations of thiopental in the blood were lower than that required for surgery in 43 of 49 executed inmates (88%); 21 (43%) inmates had concentrations consistent with awareness. Methods of lethal injection anaesthesia are flawed and some inmates might experience awareness and suffering during execution.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1412-1414 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Lancet |
| Volume | 365 |
| Issue number | 9468 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 16 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Inadequate anaesthesia in lethal injection for execution. / Koniaris, Leonidas G.; Zimmers, Teresa A.; Lubarsky, David; Sheldon, Jonathan P.
In: Lancet, Vol. 365, No. 9468, 16.04.2005, p. 1412-1414.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Inadequate anaesthesia in lethal injection for execution
AU - Koniaris, Leonidas G.
AU - Zimmers, Teresa A.
AU - Lubarsky, David
AU - Sheldon, Jonathan P.
PY - 2005/4/16
Y1 - 2005/4/16
N2 - Anaesthesia during lethal injection is essential to minimise suffering and to maintain public acceptance of the practice. Lethal injection is usually done by sequential administration of thiopental, pancuronium, and potassium chloride. Protocol information from Texas and Virginia showed that executioners had no anaesthesia training, drugs were administered remotely with no monitoring for anaesthesia, data were not recorded and no peer-review was done. Toxicology reports from Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina showed that post-mortem concentrations of thiopental in the blood were lower than that required for surgery in 43 of 49 executed inmates (88%); 21 (43%) inmates had concentrations consistent with awareness. Methods of lethal injection anaesthesia are flawed and some inmates might experience awareness and suffering during execution.
AB - Anaesthesia during lethal injection is essential to minimise suffering and to maintain public acceptance of the practice. Lethal injection is usually done by sequential administration of thiopental, pancuronium, and potassium chloride. Protocol information from Texas and Virginia showed that executioners had no anaesthesia training, drugs were administered remotely with no monitoring for anaesthesia, data were not recorded and no peer-review was done. Toxicology reports from Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina showed that post-mortem concentrations of thiopental in the blood were lower than that required for surgery in 43 of 49 executed inmates (88%); 21 (43%) inmates had concentrations consistent with awareness. Methods of lethal injection anaesthesia are flawed and some inmates might experience awareness and suffering during execution.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=17144379348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=17144379348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66377-5
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66377-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 15836890
AN - SCOPUS:17144379348
VL - 365
SP - 1412
EP - 1414
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
SN - 0140-6736
IS - 9468
ER -