Lethal Injection, Anesthesia, Medicine and Organ Donation - Ethical and Clinical Considerations Regarding the Pending Supreme Court Case: Baze vs Rees

Abstract

The recent deliberation by the United States Supreme Court regarding the use of lethal injection for executions has raised public awareness regarding the technique itself and any similarity with clinical anesthesia. This paper reviews the issues, with an emphasis in utilizing lay terms, to provide information and reference to professionals and lay persons interested in the subject of lethal injection. Anesthesiologists are most knowledgeable of the specific drugs involved in the process and may be called upon to provide information in this matter.

Justice for Jailbirds: Summoning Bioethical Liberation for Death Row and Reinventing Indiana's House Bill 41

“…To this end, the introduction of anesthesia in "excessive amounts" would lead to death with a still-beating heart in a seemingly simpler process. 150 This could be the new lethal injection process. Doctors perform organ procurement operations on brain dead, yet heart-beating patients all the time.…”