Material Detail

In a study published in POLS Medicine (an peer-reviewed open-access journal) in April by the Public Library of Science, six scientists spent three years analyzing more than 50 medical examiner reports of North Carolina and California inmates who had been injected with the short-acting anesthetic thiopental, paralytic pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The study concluded that the drug protocol was a "failure" because the inmates had below acceptable levels of thiopental in their systems indicating they probably suffered immense pain before they died.

The results of this paper suggest that current protocols used for lethal injection in the US probably violate the 8th Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

This will delete the comment from the database. This operation is not reversible. Are you sure you want to do it?

Thank you for reporting a broken "Go to Material" link in MERLOT to help us maintain a collection of valuable learning materials.

If you feel this material is inappropriate for the MERLOT Collection, please click SEND REPORT, and the MERLOT Team will investigate. Thank you!