Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 23, 2006 20:31:48 GMT -5
Montana's execution method may use too little of a pain-relieving
barbiturate and is not necessarily conducted by a doctor, the Montana American Civil Liberties said Friday.
"No one would question the necessity of having a qualified
anesthesiologist administer an anesthetic during surgery, but we don't know the qualifications or training of the person giving the (lethal) injection," said Scott Crichton, executive director of the Montana ACLU.
The group asked Montana's Supreme Court on July 11 to postpone any executions in the state until an investigation can determine if the method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Dave Dawson, a 3-time murderer from Billings, is scheduled to be put do death on Aug. 11. Dawson 2 years ago asked to end all legal appeals to spare his life and has said he disagrees with the ALCUs stance on Montanas method of execution.
Pam Collins, an assistant attorney general at the Montana Department of Justice, countered that "Montana's (execution) method is not inadequate in any way."
The agency expects to file its complete response to the civil liberties group with the Supreme Court on Monday. The response is expected to give a more detailed defense of Montanas execution method.
The ACLU, along with several church groups and state lawmakers, filed their execution postponement, before it had received a detailed description of the way Montana carries out lethal injection. The group has since received that description, and concluded Friday that Montanas lethal injection method is similar to other methods declared unconstitutional in other courts.
At issue, according to the group, is the amount of drugs given in an execution and who is responsible for administering the drugs.
Lethal injection involves 3 drugs: a barbiturate intended to render the condemned unconscious and unfeeling, a 2nd drug that paralyzes the condemned, stopping his lungs and rendering him motionless, and a 3rd drug that stops his heart.
The 3rd drug, potassium chloride, could cause severe pain before death if the executed was not properly rendered unconscious, the ACLU argues.
The civil liberties group argued that autopsies of people executed by lethal injection in other states showed the condemned was not always properly anesthetized before death and may have felt the effects of the drugs.
The group has also argued that a doctor or someone with medical training should serve as executioner.
In Montana, according to Department of Corrections information sent to state Rep. Paul Clark, D-Trout Creek, one of the lawmakers involved in the suit, executioners neednt be doctors. The executioner is chosen by Mike Mahoney, warden of the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
Mahoney has previously said that the execution has two steps. A person with medical training prepares the drugs and administers the IVs through which the drugs will flow. The executioner, who undergoes some training before the execution, depresses a plunger on the pre-mixed drugs allowing them to pass into the condemned's body.
The Department of Corrections cited a pharmacy expert who said the 3 grams of barbiturate Montana uses is many times more than is required to render a 176-pound man unconscious.
The ACLU countered that some states use 5 grams of the drug, but courts have still found their execution methods wanting.
The department also said that the identity of the executioner is to remain secret by law. Consequently, the agency would not disclose the medical training of the executioner.
(source: Helena Independent Record)
barbiturate and is not necessarily conducted by a doctor, the Montana American Civil Liberties said Friday.
"No one would question the necessity of having a qualified
anesthesiologist administer an anesthetic during surgery, but we don't know the qualifications or training of the person giving the (lethal) injection," said Scott Crichton, executive director of the Montana ACLU.
The group asked Montana's Supreme Court on July 11 to postpone any executions in the state until an investigation can determine if the method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Dave Dawson, a 3-time murderer from Billings, is scheduled to be put do death on Aug. 11. Dawson 2 years ago asked to end all legal appeals to spare his life and has said he disagrees with the ALCUs stance on Montanas method of execution.
Pam Collins, an assistant attorney general at the Montana Department of Justice, countered that "Montana's (execution) method is not inadequate in any way."
The agency expects to file its complete response to the civil liberties group with the Supreme Court on Monday. The response is expected to give a more detailed defense of Montanas execution method.
The ACLU, along with several church groups and state lawmakers, filed their execution postponement, before it had received a detailed description of the way Montana carries out lethal injection. The group has since received that description, and concluded Friday that Montanas lethal injection method is similar to other methods declared unconstitutional in other courts.
At issue, according to the group, is the amount of drugs given in an execution and who is responsible for administering the drugs.
Lethal injection involves 3 drugs: a barbiturate intended to render the condemned unconscious and unfeeling, a 2nd drug that paralyzes the condemned, stopping his lungs and rendering him motionless, and a 3rd drug that stops his heart.
The 3rd drug, potassium chloride, could cause severe pain before death if the executed was not properly rendered unconscious, the ACLU argues.
The civil liberties group argued that autopsies of people executed by lethal injection in other states showed the condemned was not always properly anesthetized before death and may have felt the effects of the drugs.
The group has also argued that a doctor or someone with medical training should serve as executioner.
In Montana, according to Department of Corrections information sent to state Rep. Paul Clark, D-Trout Creek, one of the lawmakers involved in the suit, executioners neednt be doctors. The executioner is chosen by Mike Mahoney, warden of the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
Mahoney has previously said that the execution has two steps. A person with medical training prepares the drugs and administers the IVs through which the drugs will flow. The executioner, who undergoes some training before the execution, depresses a plunger on the pre-mixed drugs allowing them to pass into the condemned's body.
The Department of Corrections cited a pharmacy expert who said the 3 grams of barbiturate Montana uses is many times more than is required to render a 176-pound man unconscious.
The ACLU countered that some states use 5 grams of the drug, but courts have still found their execution methods wanting.
The department also said that the identity of the executioner is to remain secret by law. Consequently, the agency would not disclose the medical training of the executioner.
(source: Helena Independent Record)