"The Evolution of the Death Penalty in One Map," is by Lane Florsheim at the New Republic. There is an infographic at the link. Here's an excerpt from the beginning of the conversation:
Lane Florsheim: Your paper “Lethal Injection Secrecy Post-Baze” catalogs the numerous issues with lethal injection as an execution method. Are the drawbacks of lethal injection at odds with the public’s perception of the method?
Dr. Deborah Denno: I think the public is becoming more educated about the drawbacks of the method, because there’s been so much media coverage about these lethal injection challenges. That said, I still think there’s quite a bit of public ignorance about all the problems associated with lethal injection. Most people are used to seeing these pictures of an inmate serenely on a gurney, looking like the inmate’s going to sleep. I think that for the most part that might be the larger public perception. And we all know, that person is paralyzed, at least the people who are sort of ensconced in this issue. It’s hard to know, but I think that might still be the overwhelming public perception.
LF: Why do states that have seemingly prioritized finding a “humane” execution method for more than a century take measures to conceal problems with lethal injection like non-traditional drug sources and shifting protocols?
DD: Because what they’re doing actually conflicts very much with the effort to find a humane method of execution. I mean, it’s a catch 22.
Related posts are in the lethal injection category index.
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