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News and Developments 2008: Executions

Executions Slowed in 2008, But Numbers May Increase in Coming Year

Posted: December 31, 2008
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The Death Penalty Information Center's Year End Report for 2008 recorded 37 executions for the year that ends today.  That is a 12% drop from the 42 executions in 2007.  However, based on executions already scheduled for 2009, the coming year may see an increase.  There are 23 executions scheduled for the first five months of 2009, and more dates are likely to be added.  As was true in 2008, almost all the executions scheduled are in the south and about half (12 of 23) are in Texas.  Although the time between sentencing and execution has grown longer, the size of death row has remained relatively stable and many inmates are running out of appeals.

Top Medical Officer Resigns Over Participation in Executions

Posted: December 26, 2008
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The top medical officer for the Department of Corrections in the state of Washington has resigned in order to avoid any participation in the state's execution process.  As the doctor responsible for preparing others to carry out lethal injections, Dr. Marc Stern concluded that his ethical obligations as a physician required that he recuse himself from such actions and that resigning was the only way to fully remove himself from this process. Dr. Stern, who supervised 700 employees around the state, said that the American Medical Association and the Society of Correctional Physicians oppose physician involvement in executions, "and they say physicians should not supervise somebody who is involved in executions."

North Carolina Supreme Court Debates Doctors' Roles in Executions

Posted: November 18, 2008
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The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments on November 18 on whether the state's Medical Board can sanction doctors who participate in an execution. The Board forbids physician participation in executiions as a violation of the medical code of ethics. At the same time, North Carolina's death penalty statute requires a physician’s presence at all executions.

NEW RESOURCES: BBC Documentary Examines US Capital Punishment System Through the Lethal Injection Issue

Posted: October 15, 2008
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The BBC documentary "Lethal Solution" chronicles reporter Vivian White’s exploration of the death penalty in the US through the prism of the lethal injection issue. White traveled across the US to execution chambers where lethal injection executions are carried out and interviewed participants from a wide variety of perspectives.

International Organizations and Countries Mark Day Against the Death Penalty

Posted: October 09, 2008
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As many countries prepare to mark the international World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, recent trends indicate that the world is shifting away from capital punishment. According to a report published by Reprieve, an organization that represents death row prisoners around the world, 91 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes by the end of 2007, followed by three more so far in 2008.

EXECUTIONS IN 2008

Posted: October 06, 2008
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There have been 24 executions so far in 2008. Executions resumed on May 5 after the U.S. Supreme Court approved Kentucky's lethal injection process in Baze v. Rees. One hundred percent of the executions have been in the South, including 9 in Texas, 4 in Virginia, and 3 in Georgia. At least 12 cases have been granted stays of executions in the past two months, including Troy Davis, whose execution in Georgia was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Upcoming Arkansas Execution In Doubt Because of Lethal Injection Problems and Clemency Recommendation

Posted: September 02, 2008
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A state judge in Arkansas has thrown further doubt on whether the upcoming execution of Frank Williams will be carried out on September 9 because the state did not follow proper procedures in adopting its lethal injection protocol.  Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox barred the Arkansas Department of Correction from using the protocol in its execution of Frank Williams, Jr. because the new execution procedures should have been subject to public comment before implementation.

EXECUTIONS: 100% in the South

Posted: August 26, 2008
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Executions resumed in the U.S. on May 6 following the Supreme Court's decision on lethal injections on April 16. There have been 20 executions in 4 months, with 4 months of the year remaining. Pertinent statistics follow:

Geography
100% in the South
40% in Texas

Race of those executed
White 40%
Black 45%
Hispanic 15%

Executions Since Supreme Court's Upholding of Lethal Injection

Posted: August 09, 2008
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On April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's lethal injection process in Baze v. Rees, thereby opening the door to a resumption of executions which had been on hold since September 2007. Since then, there have been 18 executions:

  • 100% have been in the South
  • 33% have been in Texas
  • All but one have been by lethal injection.

Of the 18 defendants executed:

  • 8 were white
  • 8 were black
  • 2 were Hispanic.

Of the 25 victims in the underlying murders:

Missouri Doctor Banned for Incompetence took part in Arizona's Recent Execution

Posted: July 27, 2008
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The same doctor who was banned from executions in Missouri has been discovered as a participant in Arizona’s most recent execution. Dr. Alan Doerhoff’s signature was at the bottom of the EKG tape for Robert Comer, who was executed in 2007.   Eight months earlier, Dr. Doerhoff was prohibited from participating in further Missouri executions because of questions about his standards and competence. Doerhoff had assisted in more than 54 executions in Missouri, developed procedures, inserted catheters, and monitored prisoners' consciousness in federal executions carried out in Indiana.