Aug. 11
OHIO:
Judge Extends Temporary Halt To Ohio Executions As Debate Over New Drug
Combination Continues----The moratorium, which was supposed to end this week,
has been extended to Jan. 15.
A federal judge has extended a months-long halt on executions in Ohio into 2015
as debate over the state's new 2-drug protocol in lethal injections continued.
The 2 1/2 month moratorium issued by federal judge Gregory Frost in May was to
end this week. But in an order issued Friday, Frost extended the temporary halt
on executions to January 15.
This will delay 4 executions in Ohio scheduled in September, October, November
and early January. The news was first reported Monday morning by the Associated
Press.
The moratorium was issued to allow time for the state and inmates' lawyers to
address any questions about or challenges to the state's lethal injection
protocol, which was revised after Dennis McGuire's prolonged execution in
January.
According to witnesses, McGuire gasped, choked and said his whole body was
burning after being injected with an untested 2-drug cocktail of midazolam and
hyrdropmorphone. He died after 26 minutes.
After his family sued the state, the Department of Corrections announced April
it would use the same 2-drug protocol but increase the doses of the sedative
and painkiller. This prompted Frost to issue the moratorium so attorneys of
inmates could argue against the state's decision.
In Frost's order, dated August 8, he wrote that he was extending the stay
because "the continuing need for discovery and necessary preparations related
to the adoption and implementation of the new execution protocol that became
effective April 28."
In July, an Arizona inmate took nearly 2 hours to die after witnesses described
him as repeatedly gasping and snorting. Arizona and Ohio use the same 2-drug
protocol of midazolam and hydropmorphone.
In this case, the inmate was injected with 15 separate doses of the drug
combination resulting in what his attorneys called "the most prolonged
execution in recent memory."
(source: BuzzFeed News)
OKLAHOMA----new death sentence
OK Man Convicted Of Killing Wife, Unborn Child Formally Sentenced To Death
An Oklahoma man convicted of killing his estranged wife and her unborn baby has
formally been sentenced to death.
In June, 2014, Fabion Brown was found guilty on 2 counts of 1st degree murder
and 1 count of conspiracy for the 2012 murders of his wife, Jessica Brown, and
her unborn child.
An Oklahoma County jury sentenced Brown to death. The jury decided on the death
penalty due to 2 aggravating circumstances: Brown knowingly created a great
risk of death to more than 1 person and Brown hired someone to commit the
murders for money.
Brown defended himself throughout the trial, but he changed his mind and asked
to have an attorney represent him in the punishment phase. The court decided it
was too late in the process to make a change.
On Monday, August 11, Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliot formally
sentenced Brown to death on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. Judge Elliot also
sentenced him to 10 years and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine on the charge of
conspiracy to commit murder.
Judge Elliott told Brown that he will be put to death on October 31, 2014.
(source: news9.com)
ARIZONA:
Penalty phase to begin for killer of Arizona policeman
The penalty phase is scheduled to begin Monday at the trial of an Arizona man
convicted of murder in the 2007 shooting of a Glendale police officer.
A jury last month determined that 40-year-old Bryan Wayne Hulsey qualified for
the death penalty in the shooting death of 24-year-old Officer Anthony Holly.
Jurors will consider whether to sentence Hulsey to death or life in prison.
Hulsey was a passenger in the vehicle that had been pulled over for speeding
and not having a license plate.
Holly was there to serve as backup to another officer who made the traffic
stop.
Prosecutors say Hulsey exited the vehicle and fired 2 shots, 1 of which hit
Holly.
Defense attorneys argue Holly was unintentionally shot by the officer who made
the stop.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
Testimony begins in penalty trial of man who killed marine and wife
Prosecution testimony will get underway today in the penalty trial of a man who
joined 3 cohorts in killing a Marine sergeant and his wife at their French
Valley home.
A Riverside jury last week convicted Kesaun Kedron Sykes of the 2008 slayings
of 26-year-old Quiana Faye Jenkins-Pietrzak and her husband, 24-year-old Janek
Pietrzak.
Along with the murder counts, jurors found true special circumstance
allegations of killing during the course of a robbery, killing during a
burglary and taking multiple lives in the same crime, as well as a
sentence-enhancing allegation of committing a sexual assault with a foreign
instrument.
The same jury will now decide whether to recommend a death sentence or life in
prison without the possibility of parole for the dishonorably discharged
Marine.
Last year, three members of Janek Pietrzak's helicopter maintenance squadron at
Camp Pendleton -- Kevin Darnell Cox and Tyrone Lloyd Miller, both 27, along
with 25-year-old Emrys Justin John -- were convicted of the killings. Cox and
Miller were sentenced to death, while John received two consecutive life prison
terms.
Deputy District Attorney Dan DeLimon recalled testimony in the two-week trial
that showed Sykes, 27, conspired to carry out the deadly home invasion, having
joined Cox, John and Miller in a similar break-in at an Oceanside residence
less than a month earlier, during which a man and woman were injured.
The prosecutor described Sykes as the "tip of the spear," acting as the point
man and leading the way into the Pietrzaks' home at 1:15 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2008.
"Everything he did demonstrated a complete lack of conscience and a perverse
sense of reality," DeLimon said.
The defendants were convinced they would find guns, drawers full of cash and
various high-value commodities inside the two-story house at 31319 Bermuda
Ave., according to DeLimon.
They ransacked the residence for 90 minutes and took advantage of their
helpless victims, both of whom were bound, gagged and blindfolded, the
prosecutor said.
Quiana Pietrzak was separated from her husband and placed on a table by Sykes,
who stripped her and joined Miller and Cox in violating her.
"He crossed all boundaries in the way he chose to exploit Quiana," DeLimon told
jurors. "He violated her in a way that not only affected her dignity, but
mocked her sexuality - and humiliated Sergeant Pietrzak."
Sykes' attorney, Doug Myers, insisted his client never wanted or intended the
Pietrzaks to die.
The attorney emphasized that Sykes was not present when the 4 fatal shots were
fired into the victims, having gone out to an SUV into which the defendants had
loaded stolen goods.
The defendants confessed that they were mainly interested in the "stuff" they
might be able steal from the victims, who had received numerous gifts at their
wedding that August.
Both victims were shot execution-style as they lay face down in their living
room.
(source: myvalleynews.com)
USA:
Recipe for Disaster: The Difficulties of Concocting a Lethal Injection
"The simplest [execution] I know of is the guillotine. And I'm not at all
opposed to bringing it back. The person's head is cut off and that's the end of
it," said Jay Chapman. Chapman is the creator of the most commonly used lethal
injection protocol, which he concocted in the late 1970s. This lethal recipe
was adopted by 37 states.
Chapman's protocol called for three drugs: sodium thiopental, a sedative;
pancuronium bromide, a paralytic agent; and to stop the heart, potassium
chloride. However, in the last few years, manufacturers have pulled away from
selling these drugs to states for the purpose of lethal injection. Sodium
thiopental, the key sedative in the protocol, has become virtually unavailable.
The last manufacturer of sodium thiopental in the United States stopped
producing it in 2011. The European Union banned export of it all together, and
India has banned its sale. While some states attempted to stockpile the drug
before the bans, sodium thiopental has a shelf life of only 4 years, with
expirations fast approaching in 2015.
Suddenly, states were left with prisoners on death row, and no way to kill
them. They had to reinvent the lethal injection.
On July 23, convicted murdered Joseph Wood was executed by the state of
Arizona. His execution took almost two hours, involving fifteen doses of an
experimental drug combination. Witnesses watched as he gagged and choked for
the majority of the two hours, his opioid receptors filling with hydromorphone
and midazolam.
Before his execution, Wood's lawyers petitioned the state of Arizona for
information about the experimental drug protocol he would be killed with. They
wanted to know what, exactly, would end their client's life, and how it had
been created.
Dale Baich, Wood's attorney, spoke to The Wire about that process. "Prior to
Mr. Wood's execution, we asked the Department of Corrections for information
about the manufacturer of the drugs, the national drug code numbers and the lot
numbers. We also asked for the qualifications of the execution team members who
would be mixing the drugs. We also asked for information about how the state
came up with the formula." While the 9th Circuit Court agreed that this
information should be disclosed and issued a stay of execution, the U.S.
Supreme Court vacated that ruling, allowing Wood to be put to death.
After Wood was killed, the recipe of the lethal injection cocktail, also know
as a protocol, were released to the public. The names of the chemists,
compounding pharmacy, and researchers used by the state of Arizona were not -
nor do they legally have to be. An executing state is not legally required to
explain where their lethal protocol came from, or who helped create it.
As Baich investigated his client's execution, he was able to determine that the
state of Arizona used findings from a recent Ohio case. Dennis McGuire was
found guilty of brutally murdering and raping a young woman and put on death
row. The state of Ohio was seeking a new lethal injection protocol, and turned
to experts to help with the formula. Baich provided The Wire with the expert
reports and deposition transcripts used in the Ohio case, in which Dr. David
Waisel and Dr. Mark Dershwitz, 2 anesthesiologists, were consulted.
The 2 doctors were called as expert witnesses. Both had extensive anesthetic
knowledge and impressive educations, yet their conclusions differed. Dr. Waisel
believed Ohio's lethal injection protocol, 10 mg of midazolam and 40 mg of
hydromorphone, was not strong enough. Waisel warned that the "implication of
the inadequate dose of midazolam and the hydromorphone (which does not produce
unconsciousness) is that there is, at the very least, a substantial risk an
inmate such as McGuire will be aware of and experience air hunger as the
ventilator depressant effects of hydromorphone and midazolam take effect."
Essentially, McGuire would die a slow and painful death, completely aware of
his surroundings.
On the other hand, Dr. Dershwitz found Dr. Waisel's findings inaccurate. In his
expert statement, Dr. Dershwitz determined "the dose of hydromorphone specified
in the 1st injection by the Ohio protocol is extremely high and is expected to
cause virtually every person given such a dose to stop breathing."
McGuire took about 20 minutes to die when he was executed on January 16 of this
year. During that time, he struggled, gasped, choked, and attempted to sit up.
To onlookers, he appeared to be in visible pain. It was not unlike Wood's
death, though it only took a fraction of the time. Dr. Waisel's medical
expertise proved correct in this particular case. Ohio has placed a moratorium
on executions ever since.
While both men appeared to be in visible pain during their deaths, it is
unclear how they actually felt. We spoke with Dr. Steven Baumrucker, Associate
Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, who
explained that in the Arizona execution, the inmate was given the equivalent of
800 mg of oral morphine, or 80 Lortab 10's.
"If this person was tolerant of opioids, that may not be enough to kill him
quickly. This maybe why this took two hours. That is a questionable cocktail.
Now, did he suffer during that? The things they saw as suffering maybe bothered
the people that were watching more than it was bothering him. But can we say
that he didn't suffer? No."
An Ohio official told the judge working to find an acceptable lethal injection
protocol that "You're not entitled to a pain-free execution." This mentality is
a point of contention on both sides of the execution battle. While some believe
a painful execution qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment, others believe
that with murderers who are guilty of terrible crimes against humanity, the end
is more important than the means.
"Ethics is not calculus."
In the case of Wood's execution, the lawyers sought the lethal injection
protocol to ensure that the death would not be painful. Additionally, a further
investigation could have prolonged the inmate's life, however the court ruled
against the revealing of any data that would have required more investigating.
While the lawyers defending Wood believed this was necessary information to
their client, on the other side of the lethal injection battle is the Criminal
Justice Legal Foundation, which believes the protocol itself is of no matter to
the inmate and such lawsuits only "hold up executions." Michael Rushford is
president of the foundation, which describes itself as "a nonprofit, public
interest law organization dedicated to improving the administration of criminal
justice."
"Fighting over the exact drug, and where we got it, is a waste of time and
money," Rushford explained to The Wire. "We should be looking for the simplest,
least painful, cheapest way to do this." Rushford also takes the view of the
Ohio official when it comes to pain during death. "This murderer took 2 hours
to die. Frankly, if the guy takes 2 hours to die, and he's asleep for those 2
hours, that in our point of view is a successful execution." On the contrary,
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in
Washington, believes a 2-hour execution is "inhumane and objectionable, even if
they are pretty much asleep."
In a phone interview with The Wire, Dieter argued the secrecy behind the
protocol was problematic. "States have had to scramble to replace the Chapman
formula. To get help with that, from doctors, from pharmaceutical companies,
from local pharmacies, they have had to assure anonymity. People are willing to
say what might work, but they aren't willing to have their name or their
company associated with it. So we have this secrecy around it." On the
contrary, Rushford believes the anonymity is necessary, as otherwise, the
medical professionals and manufacturers involved may face protests.
With reports of 2 recent botched executions, Dieter believes momentum is
building for the process to become unveiled. "Courts have allowed these
executions to go forward despite the secrecy. There is no incentive for the
state to reveal more than they have to, but this is getting to the point of
national embarrassment. A well-functioning Congress may have already called for
hearings."
While Rushford also notes that little is publicly known about exactly how the
protocol is made, and by whom, he believes there is a larger issue at hand: the
concept of a compounded protocol itself is flawed. Instead, he advocates for a
single drug process. Rushford also suggested that death by nitrogen gas should
be considered for those on death row and noted "some states are even
considering firing squads again."
"The court is more comfortable with a 1-drug protocol. That's much less
complicated, and there are scores of anesthesia that are available. It's very
effective," said Rushford. "The best anesthesia is the one that is most
effective, that they are simply put to sleep. If you give someone enough of
that drug, they will die, it'll be boring, they'll go to sleep." Rushford's
organization has successfully persuaded 2 states, Texas and Missouri, to adopt
the single-drug execution method using a high dose of pentobarbital, which is
used to put down animals.
While it may be "boring," Dr. Baumrucker notes that it may not be quite that
simple. "There is a finite number of opioid receptors in the body. Once a
narcotic fits that receptor in the body; the classic one is the mu opioid
receptor. When you hit it, it does several things, there are specific changes
in the body." In other words, after a certain point, more drugs does not mean
faster death, even at fifteen doses, as in the Arizona execution.
"There are reasons why there are maximum doses of these things. So if you crank
up the dose, you can kill someone on purpose. You can, theoretically, kill
people by giving them an overdose of Tylenol but that is a long, drawn out,
miserable affair," continued Dr. Baumrucker. "You're relying on the drug to be
toxic enough to kill them quickly, and now, who is studying them? Because it is
unethical to do these studies, you have to hope for the best."
Still, a number of other states are set on using a lethal injection composed of
several drugs. "States that are still using a combination of drugs, you have
more drugs to buy and locate, and there is always the question of dose," said
Rushford, "We think that the whole issue is kind of academic - you are trying
to end the life of a murderer."
Primum non nocere
When it comes to the idea of lethal injections as academia, the academic world
of medicine shifts uncomfortably in their lab coats. Primum non nocere, reads
the Hippocratic Oath: first do no harm. To execute is, inherently, to harm.
Both of the doctors consulted as experts in the Ohio case were
anesthesiologists. Their expertise is in line with the types of drugs used to
kill inmates. They are extremely well informed on exactly how a body will die
when these drugs are injected, and their expertise could be used to create
lethal injections that offer as little pain as possible. However, their
professional community does not condone such involvement. We reached out to the
American Society of Anesthesiologists, who offered this statement on the
matter:
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) does not take a position on
lethal injection or capital punishment, as this is not the practice of
medicine. Physicians are healers. The doctor-patient relationship depends upon
the premise that a physician uses his or her medical expertise only for the
benefit of patients.
The American Medical Association feels similarly, as their statement attests:
An individual's opinion on capital punishment is the personal moral decision of
the individual. A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to
preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in
a legally authorized execution.
While euthanasia is illegal in the United States, assisted suicide - dying with
the aid of physician - is legal in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont.
Hospice care, which pursues a death that is as peaceful and pain-free as
possible, is legal, and encouraged, throughout the country. Medical
professionals have the expertise to offer a comfortable death, but the ethics
surrounding this practice are difficult to navigate.
"The ethical argument is that the execution is going to happen anyway, so we as
physicians should make it as comfortable as we possibly can. However, the AMA
feels that's a flawed argument because that's a flawed premise," explained Dr.
Baumrucker. "The number 1 idea is 'non-maleficence,' which is 'first do no
harm.' The key word in that statement is 'first'. Number 1, don't do any harm.
Now whether you agree with lethal injection or not, or the death penalty or
not, it is considered to be unethical for a physician to participate."
This view from the medical community is entirely understandable, and they are
certainly not in charge of creating the updated lethal injection protocol.
However, neither, it seems, is anyone else. The community with the most
expertise is ethically bound to not get involved. So instead, we are faced with
a trial-and-error method. Some trials are better than others: the most recent
state execution, of Missouri murderer Michael Worthington on August 6 , took
only 1- minutes. Still, until a new protocol is created and the veil of secrecy
is lifted, it is unlikely that every execution will be as clean cut as that of
Worthington.
Or perhaps as Jay Chapman, the man behind the original protocol, put it, it
will just go away. "I think that maybe the death penalty itself is going to go
away and they won't have to be concerned with the method by which it would be
carried out."
(source: Thewire.com)
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