Editor's Note: The New England Journal of Medicine saw our republication of their article, Physicians and Execution (Volume 358:403-404  January 24, 2008  Number) in its entirety. One of their representatives wrote a threatening letter to us, demanding that we remove it from Axis of Logic. Apparently, they have little interest in educating the general public and reserve their work only for medical professionals and others who can afford to subscribe to their journal. Therefore we are only publishing below, excerpts of the salient points of their report on the death penalty. Copyrighted material can be legally reproduced and distributed to the general public under Fair Use Laws. However, often organisations and media with "deep pockets" threaten legal action, knowing that many do not have the funds or resources to mount a legal defense even if they are on solid legal footing. Bluntly, this amounts to censorship by bullying. For those who wish to read the entire report will find the balance of their report on their website. (all subtitles and editorial comments added by Axis of Logic)

Les Blough, Editor

Volume 358:403-404  January 24, 2008  Number 4 

Physicians and Execution

Gregory D. Curfman, M.D., Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., and Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D. 

U.S. Supreme Court will rule on executions by lethal injection

"This spring the U.S. Supreme Court in Baze v. Rees1 will rule on the constitutionality of the three-drug regimen currently used for lethal injection in most state executions. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits punishment that is "cruel and unusual." The central question before the Court in Baze is whether the use of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride violates that constitutional prohibition. ...

"We are concerned that, regardless of its decision in Baze v. Rees, the Court may include language in its opinion that will turn again to the medical profession to legitimize a form of lethal injection that, meeting an appropriate constitutional standard, will not be considered "cruel and unusual punishment." On the surface, lethal injection is a deceptively simple procedure, but its practical application has been fraught with numerous technical difficulties. Without the involvement of physicians and other medical professionals with special training in the use of anesthetic drugs and related agents, it is unlikely that lethal injection will ever meet a constitutional standard of decency. But do we as a society want the nation's physicians to do this? We believe not.

A brief history of the Death Penalty in the United States

"The heinous nature of the crimes committed by Ralph Baze and his coplaintiff, Thomas Bowling, is not in doubt. What the Court will decide is whether the current lethal-injection protocol does or does not meet an acceptable constitutional standard of human decency.

"Lethal injection was introduced in the United States in 1977 explicitly to sanitize executions, since the older methods � hanging, electrocution, and chemical gassing � were considered to be inhumane. The three-drug regimen that is commonly used was proposed by an Oklahoma forensic pathologist, Dr. A. Jay Chapman, and adopted by the state legislature without any scientific or medical testing. Injected drugs, now used in all but 1 of the 37 states in which capital punishment is legal, have been part of the increasing medicalization of executions and the enlistment of medical personnel to lend them apparent moral legitimacy.

Since 1977 the Oklahoma regimen has been used in approximately 900 executions, several dozen of which have been botched because of infiltration of intravenous lines, inadequate anesthesia, drug precipitation when solutions of sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide are mixed, and other problems. In a vivid example, an inmate in Ohio in 2006 raised his head repeatedly during the execution and said, "It don't work."

Lethal injection does not anesthetise against pain

"The use of a neuromuscular blocker, pancuronium bromide, as part of the protocol has been especially controversial, since it has no anesthetic properties and only paralyzes the person, which can mask inadequate anesthesia if a sufficient dose of sodium thiopental has not been administered. The person may be alert and aware and may suffocate owing to paralysis of respiratory muscles, but there will be no way to know it. Also, the subsequent intravenous administration of potassium chloride would cause excruciating pain in a conscious person, but this too would be concealed by paralysis.

Involvement of Health Professionals in U.S. Executions.

"Physicians and other health care providers should not be involved in capital punishment, even in an advisory capacity. A profession dedicated to healing the sick has no place in the process of execution. On January 7 in oral arguments in Baze v. Rees, the justices asked many important and thoughtful questions about a potential role for physicians and other health care professionals in executions. In their fuller examination of Baze v. Rees, the justices should not presume that the medical profession will be available to assist in the taking of human lives."

Perspective Roundtable: Physicians and Execution

Readers can watch the video of the roundtable discussion online at www.nejm.org. Readers can also vote online on whether they believe physicians and other health care professionals should be involved in executions and whether they themselves would choose to participate in executions.

Source Information

This article (10.1056/NEJMe0800032) was published at www.nejm.orgon January 7, 2008.

References

Baze v. Rees, No. 07-5439.
Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).
Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976).
Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002).
Roper v. Simmons, 543. U.S. 551 (2005).

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. 

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/4/403

Today the New England Journal of Medicine ran an editorial stating that doctors should not be involved in executions. Period.  This is an important step, and something that moves us toward abolition.  Details here:
http://dreamantilles.blogspot.com/
 
May all beings refrain from killing and prevent others from killing.  May all beings be happy.  May all beings be safe.  May all beings be well.  May all beings realize their enlightenment.
 
david