Eleven Down And Twenty Three To Go

In light of North Carolina's moratorium on executions it is
the eleventh state to halt executions until it changes the
way such punishment is adminstered. With such a high
percentage of states addressing this issue, should the other
twenty-three states that have capital punishment follow
suit? Check out the article below.



A judge Thursday blocked two executions in North Carolina, creating a de facto moratorium on capital punishment in the state until it changes its lethal injection procedure.The ruling by Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens in Raleigh means that 11 states, including California, have now halted executions stemming from challenges to lethal injection.

Thursday's decision is perhaps the strongest example of the complications that have arisen from attempts by prison officials around the country to "medicalize" the execution procedure, said Fordham University law professor Deborah Denno. North Carolina, like 36 other states, uses a three-drug combination to execute inmates who are strapped to a gurney.

A North Carolina law mandates that a doctor be present at executions — in part to make sure that the condemned person is fully anesthetized before being put to death. But professional medical associations and ethics boards nationally and in many states, including North Carolina, have strongly advised physicians not to participate in executions.Physicians, until recently, helped monitor a patient's vital signs at the execution chamber at Central Prison in Raleigh.

Last week, however, the state medical board said that although a doctor could be present, any other participation violated its ethics policy. On Wednesday, state corrections officials attempted to get around that problem by telling Judge Stephens that the doctor would be present but would not supervise or participate in the injection of any drugs or the monitoring of the prisoner's medical condition.

They said the key roles would be played by a registered nurse and an emergency medical technician. But Stephens, a former prosecutor, ruled that the state's "current position is different" than the one it has taken in past executions. "This current procedure and protocol eliminates the physician's participation in an execution," and consequently it violates state law, the judge ruled.

He said prison officials could not simply change the protocol for executions without the approval of the governor and other state officials. Stephens' ruling came one day before the state was to execute Marcus R. Robinson and two days after 30 North Carolina legislators asked Gov. Mike Easley to declare a death penalty moratorium until the state thoroughly reviewed its lethal injection procedure.



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