Executions

Washington’s former medical director for the Department of Corrections, Dr. Marc Stern, recently resigned from his post because of an ethichal conflict with his role in supervising those who carried out executions.  For example, the prison's medical director, a nurse, attended at least 8 practice sessions with the four-member lethal-injection team, including some held on the kitchen countertop at a team member's home.  As he left his position on the eve of a scheduled execution, Stern formally accused the Department of Corrections of illegally obtaining the lethal-injection drugs and voiced concerns over his medical staff’s required participation in executions.  As head doctor for the state’s prisons, he was surprised to be told he had to ensure the lethal injection table was in working order before each execution. "This is ludicrous," Stern remembers telling his boss. "I can't do this. I won't do this. I'm not allowed to do this."  The American Medical Association (AMA) admonishes physicians from any direct role with lethal injections, including "an action which would assist, supervise, or contribute to the ability of another individual to directly cause the death of the condemned."  Stern saw the AMA code as clear cut.  This put him into an ethical bind since the fact that he was ultimately accountable for all medical procedures in the prisons meant he was also responsible for the lethal injection medical procedures. "If a nurse put in an IV and missed, and it turned out the chain of training was bad, that's my responsibility," Stern said.  Since his resignation, a doctor who assumed some of his duties has lodged similar objections about the involvement of Department of Corrections staff in the procedures.  Washington's scheduled executions are temporarily on hold.

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that physicians cannot be punished by the State Medical Board for taking part in executions.  The Medical Board had adopted a policy in January 2007 that their physician's code of ethics would be violated by a doctor taking part in an execution, subjecting practitioners to having his or her medical license revoked.  This policy conflicted with the state law that requires a physician’s presence at all executions, effectively putting North Carolina’s executions on hold.  Writing for the majority, Justice Edward Thomas Brady wrote, "[The Medical Board's] position statement exceeds its authority . . . because the statement directly contravenes the specific requirement of physician presence."  In the dissenting opinion, Justice Robin Hudson wrote, "The position statement is a valid exercise of [the Medical Board's] statutory authority. Any change in that authority – which is the practical effect of the majority opinion – is a matter for the General Assembly which granted it, not for the courts.”  The medical board did not object to doctors' presence at executions, only to their participation through the monitoring of the condemned inmate's vital functions.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost found continued problems with the way Ohio executes inmates, but nevertheless upheld the state's excution process.  In a 159-page ruling on a complaint brought by death row inmate Kenneth Biros, Frost said that it is possible further evidence could demonstrate that the state's process constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.  He found problems with both Ohio’s written protocols and the training the state provides the execution team. "Ohio's method of execution by lethal injection is a system replete with inherent flaws that raise profound concerns and present unnecessary risks," Frost wrote, "even if it appears unlikely that Biros will demonstrate that those risks rise to the level of violating the United States Constitution."

The legal fight over California’s lethal injection process moved into a new phase as the state has given up its appeals and decided to follow the administrative rules to put the execution plan through public review.  The state must hold a series of public hearings, which effectively leaves San Quentin’s newly constructed execution chamber empty for the foreseeable future.  This is the latest development in California’s attempt to revise its lethal injection process; executions have remained on hold for nearly three years. 

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."