Lethal Injection in
Lethal Injection in the Context of Surgical Procedures
April 29, 2006
The Supreme Court has delayed the execution of some death row inmates out of the premise that they need to examine whether or not death by lethal injection is “cruel and unusual punishment” and thus is unconstitutional. The justices have recently heard arguments in this regard. The specific complaint appears to be that the injections are painful and cause suffering in the period of time after injection but before death occurs. I shall address only the complaint here.
Recently, I underwent a screening colon procedure familiar to many. Since I am queasy about such medical encounters, I opted for sedation. Along came the nurse, who started an IV in my arm. That involved a needle stick, which was not particularly cruel, and certainly it would not be unusual even in the case of prisoners. Then along came the anesthesiologist, who smoothly and steadily injected a medicine called Diprivan into my bloodstream through the IV. There was no burning with that injection. Also, I barely had time to tell him “good-bye” before I became comatose. The next thing I knew I was awake again and talking coherently, with no apparent lingering drug effect at all.
I remember nothing about the colonoscopy. I do know that my undergoing such a procedure without being asleep would surely be extremely uncomfortable, because I am quite sensitive at the point of entry of that tube. I also understand that the tube must bend and twist, causing pain due to pressure. Air must be injected into the colon to inflate it, which causes a lot of cramp-like discomfort in itself. I, on the other hand, felt none of this thanks to Diprivan.
Anesthesiologists routinely give medicines like Diprivan to induce sleep in patients about to be operated on by surgeons. Then a narcotic is added. Major operations occur using these two medicines alone, and the patients wake up not remembering any of it or the pain associated with surgical incisions, organ manipulation, and suturing. Another fact is that an anesthesiologist often must use artificial respiration during the surgery, because the combination of Valium-like medicines and a narcotic, given in sufficient dosage, will stop a person from breathing. If the anesthesiologist did not cause the patient to breathe artificially, death would occur. In an awake individual, such suffocation would cause several seconds of an intense smothering feeling before unconsciousness would set in. However, if you deliberately hold your breath until you can no longer stand it, you will find that this feeling is not knife-like. I can imagine that my colon exam would be about as intense as but last a lot longer than the suffocation feeling. Diprivan alone should allow a person to stay asleep and never remember the smothering feeling associated with not breathing, since this sedative is so effective for a colon exam. Diprivan along with a narcotic would go much farther than Diprivan alone---“overkill”, in a sense.
It is my understanding that the prison personnel who lethally inject death row inmates use some kind of sedation (thiopental, a rather archaic but effective sleep-inducer if used at the proper dose), a curare-like drug for paralysis, and then potassium chloride or the equivalent to cause the heart to stop. The objection appears to be that the potassium injection causes a burning feeling in the veins as it travels to the central body.
It is possible that the wrong sedative or an insufficient dose of it is being used for lethal injection. If the inmate can feel a burning from the potassium, then that person is not sufficiently asleep before the potassium is given. If the inmate were given Diprivan along with Demerol or morphine sulphate prior to the potassium, that person would most assuredly never feel anything just as surgical patients never feel the knife when they are under this type of sedation. Also, it is possible that thiopental might cause a mild burning sensation in the entrance veins of some who receive it. Diprivan and Demerol do not cause any burning, are widely available, and are highly effective.
Indeed, prison personnel should be able to inject an inmate lethally using sufficient Diprivan and Demerol alone, causing painless suffocation. It is only a question of sufficient dosage. Even so, those who want no possibility of even subtle muscle twitching and who desire the heart rhythm to stop predictably could still inject a curare-like drug and potassium chloride after the lethal doses of Diprivan and Demerol are on board, and the procedure would be equally painless with or without the potassium injection.
Therefore, my opinion is this: if the complaint about pain is not merely contrived (and I suspect it is), and if there really is pain beyond insertion of the IV associated with lethal injection as it is done currently, then the procedure can be easily changed to make it pain-free. Compassionate individuals who nonetheless support the death penalty as being the best trade-off for dealing with a situation where nobody wins, would want it to be that way---always.
© 2006, srman07
April 29, 2006
The Supreme Court has delayed the execution of some death row inmates out of the premise that they need to examine whether or not death by lethal injection is “cruel and unusual punishment” and thus is unconstitutional. The justices have recently heard arguments in this regard. The specific complaint appears to be that the injections are painful and cause suffering in the period of time after injection but before death occurs. I shall address only the complaint here.
Recently, I underwent a screening colon procedure familiar to many. Since I am queasy about such medical encounters, I opted for sedation. Along came the nurse, who started an IV in my arm. That involved a needle stick, which was not particularly cruel, and certainly it would not be unusual even in the case of prisoners. Then along came the anesthesiologist, who smoothly and steadily injected a medicine called Diprivan into my bloodstream through the IV. There was no burning with that injection. Also, I barely had time to tell him “good-bye” before I became comatose. The next thing I knew I was awake again and talking coherently, with no apparent lingering drug effect at all.
I remember nothing about the colonoscopy. I do know that my undergoing such a procedure without being asleep would surely be extremely uncomfortable, because I am quite sensitive at the point of entry of that tube. I also understand that the tube must bend and twist, causing pain due to pressure. Air must be injected into the colon to inflate it, which causes a lot of cramp-like discomfort in itself. I, on the other hand, felt none of this thanks to Diprivan.
Anesthesiologists routinely give medicines like Diprivan to induce sleep in patients about to be operated on by surgeons. Then a narcotic is added. Major operations occur using these two medicines alone, and the patients wake up not remembering any of it or the pain associated with surgical incisions, organ manipulation, and suturing. Another fact is that an anesthesiologist often must use artificial respiration during the surgery, because the combination of Valium-like medicines and a narcotic, given in sufficient dosage, will stop a person from breathing. If the anesthesiologist did not cause the patient to breathe artificially, death would occur. In an awake individual, such suffocation would cause several seconds of an intense smothering feeling before unconsciousness would set in. However, if you deliberately hold your breath until you can no longer stand it, you will find that this feeling is not knife-like. I can imagine that my colon exam would be about as intense as but last a lot longer than the suffocation feeling. Diprivan alone should allow a person to stay asleep and never remember the smothering feeling associated with not breathing, since this sedative is so effective for a colon exam. Diprivan along with a narcotic would go much farther than Diprivan alone---“overkill”, in a sense.
It is my understanding that the prison personnel who lethally inject death row inmates use some kind of sedation (thiopental, a rather archaic but effective sleep-inducer if used at the proper dose), a curare-like drug for paralysis, and then potassium chloride or the equivalent to cause the heart to stop. The objection appears to be that the potassium injection causes a burning feeling in the veins as it travels to the central body.
It is possible that the wrong sedative or an insufficient dose of it is being used for lethal injection. If the inmate can feel a burning from the potassium, then that person is not sufficiently asleep before the potassium is given. If the inmate were given Diprivan along with Demerol or morphine sulphate prior to the potassium, that person would most assuredly never feel anything just as surgical patients never feel the knife when they are under this type of sedation. Also, it is possible that thiopental might cause a mild burning sensation in the entrance veins of some who receive it. Diprivan and Demerol do not cause any burning, are widely available, and are highly effective.
Indeed, prison personnel should be able to inject an inmate lethally using sufficient Diprivan and Demerol alone, causing painless suffocation. It is only a question of sufficient dosage. Even so, those who want no possibility of even subtle muscle twitching and who desire the heart rhythm to stop predictably could still inject a curare-like drug and potassium chloride after the lethal doses of Diprivan and Demerol are on board, and the procedure would be equally painless with or without the potassium injection.
Therefore, my opinion is this: if the complaint about pain is not merely contrived (and I suspect it is), and if there really is pain beyond insertion of the IV associated with lethal injection as it is done currently, then the procedure can be easily changed to make it pain-free. Compassionate individuals who nonetheless support the death penalty as being the best trade-off for dealing with a situation where nobody wins, would want it to be that way---always.
© 2006, srman07
posted by srman07 at 9:23 AM
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