"Testimony gives rare details of Fla. executions," is by Tamara Lush of Associated Press. It's via Businessweek. Here's the beginning:
The state corrections official who stands beside condemned inmates as they take their last breaths in Florida's death chamber recently pulled back the veil on what has largely been a very secretive execution process.
The testimony was given during a Feb. 11 hearing in a lawsuit involving Paul Howell, a death row inmate scheduled to die by lethal injection Feb. 26. Howell is appealing his execution; his lawyers say the first of the injected drugs, midazolam, isn't effective at preventing the pain of the subsequent drugs.
The Florida Supreme court specifically asked the circuit court in Leon County to determine the efficacy of the so called "consciousness check" given to inmates by the execution team leader.
The testimony is notable because it shows that the Department of Corrections has changed its procedures since the state started using a new cocktail of lethal injection drugs. A shortage of execution drugs around the country is becoming worse as more pharmacies conclude that supplying the lethal chemicals is not worth the bad publicity and the legal and ethical risks.
Timothy Cannon, who is the assistant secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections and the team leader present at every execution, told a Leon County court that an additional inmate "consciousness check" is now given due to news media reports and other testimony stemming from the Oct. 15 execution of William Happ.
Earlier coverage from Florida begins at the link. You can also jump to news reporting of the Happ execution.
Comments