FLORIDA conducted an execution last week using a lethal injection cocktail that included a chemical never before used for this purpose.
Mark James Asay was convicted of two murders and sentenced to death in 1988. He was executed using a cocktail of rocuronium bromide, to cause paralysis, and potassium acetate, to stop the heart. The latter had been used in an execution just once before, by mistake.
鈥淔lorida has not provided any information about why it made the switch to etomidate鈥�
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The mixture also included etomidate, an anaesthetic never before used in this way. It replaced the sedative midazolam, which has been implicated in a number of drawn-out and possibly painful executions in the US.
鈥淔lorida has not provided any information about why it made the switch to etomidate or whether it consulted with medical experts,鈥� says Jen Moreno of Berkeley Law, University of California. 鈥淲e do not know if it is safe and effective.鈥�
US states with the death penalty have recently had to change the drugs they use for lethal injection because pharmaceutical companies have either stopped selling certain drugs or refused to sell them for use in executions.
Asay鈥檚 lawyers had challenged Florida鈥檚 planned use of etomidate, but the state Supreme Court ruled that they had 鈥渇ailed to establish sure or very likely risks of sufficiently imminent danger or a proposed alternative that is readily available鈥�.
鈥淭he state does not have to show that the protocol is safe before they use it,鈥� says Moreno. 鈥淭he burden is on the prisoners, which is highly problematic because states like Florida refuse to provide prisoners with key information about the drugs and the reasons for selecting certain drugs.鈥�
Around 1 minute after being given etomidate, Asay鈥檚 feet reportedly twitched. He was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淓xecution cocktail鈥�
