There may be some who are offended a bit by John Oliver’s discourse in this video (it’s HBO, after all), but his discussion of the current lethal injection method of execution in this country is so important that hopefully, those folk will still watch through to the very end.
He’s right on point about this:
The execution of Tennessee Death Row inmate Edmund Zagorski is scheduled to take place today at seven o’clock this evening. This morning, his defense team filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States to try and halt the proceedings.
Follow that SCOTUS docket here.
Florida’ Electric Chair:
Last week, the Pew Research Center released research findings in an article written by John Gramlich, entitled “11 states that have the death penalty haven’t used it in more than a decade.” It’s an interesting read, considering that two states recently geared up their Execution Calendars again:
The State of Nevada has scheduled the execution of Scott Dozier for July 11, 2018. The execution method will be lethal injection. It is the state’s first execution in 12 years.
On Tuesday, the Nevada Department of Corrections announced that the Dozier Execution will involve the use of the following three drugs:
This week, the State of Oklahoma announced that it is forgetting all about lethal injections because it has not been able to get the necessary toxic drugs to use for executions.
Gas Chamber in Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s going back to nitrogen. That’s right. The gas chamber will be the method of execution in the State of
This week, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to consider the case coming out of Texas, where Death Row inmates petitioned SCOTUS to review their claims that Texas’ use of pentobarbital in lethal injection executions is cruel and unusual punishment.
Seems Texas has a stash of pentobarbital that it got from a
The thing about lethal injection is that it’s an execution method usually built around a combination of drugs. And those drugs might not be the same.
Indiana 3-Drug Combo Voided by Indiana Court
For example, in Indiana the drug combination protocol established by the Indiana Department of Corrections was: (1) methoexital; (2) pancuronium bromide; and
In Mississippi (and elsewhere), the lethal injection method of execution is so problematic these days that state governments are considering the return to past methods of killing people in capital punishment sentences.
Firing Squad
The Mississippi legislature had been considering the firing squad. Read, "Mississippi considers firing squad as method of execution," for
The State of Missouri is buying its lethal injection drugs from a pharmacy. The identity of that supplier is a secret.
Does Pharmacy Have Constitutionally Protected Speech Over Products It Sells?
The supplier has provided the drugs used in 16 executions in the State of Missouri.
Mississippi Death Row inmates have a court fight going
This week, Pfizer banned the use of its drug products in U.S. executions — or anywhere else for that matter. Pfizer isn’t setting precedent here, as much as getting in line behind almost two dozen other drug manufacturers that have already announced a company ban on the capital punishment market.
Pfizer Bans Use of Seven