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Changes Recommended for Fla. Executions |
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Written by By PHIL DAVIS
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Thursday, 01 March 2007 |
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- A commission reviewing the botched lethal injection of a death row inmate urged Florida's governor find a way to ensure inmates are unconscious before the second and third extremely painful drugs are injected.
The 11-member panel, whose report was due to the governor Thursday, also emphasized a need for more training and better supervision in the death chamber.
The recommendations followed the Dec. 13 execution of Angel Diaz, 55, who took twice as long as usual to die. The 34-minute execution also required a rare second dose of lethal drugs, including a painful paralytic that a few commissioners believed was responsible for the panel's inability to determine if Diaz suffered.
A majority of the panel agreed to suggest that Gov. Charlie Crist ask prison officials to routinely investigate "less problematic" alternatives for sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride -- the chemicals used to sedate, paralyze and kill inmates.
An anesthesiologist told the commission during the hearings that pancuronium bromide has the potential to leave an improperly sedated inmate in intense agony without the ability to show it.
"Under no circumstances should the executioner continue with the second and third lethal substance without the warden's authorization," a draft of the commission report said.
It wasn't clear if Diaz was properly sedated when the painful drugs were injected into his body, the commission said. An autopsy found the needles were pushed through Diaz's veins into the flesh of his arms, possibly limiting the effectiveness of all three drugs.
The report calls for increased training for state execution teams and a clear protocol to be created that defines the lethal injection process. It also suggests prison staff find a way to ensure the intravenous lines stay in place throughout the procedure.
The commission also recommended better supervision of the execution, including radio communication between the execution team and the warden, closed circuit monitoring so executioners can clearly see the inmate and an additional Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent to provide an alternative account from the witness area. Prison officials disputed media and witness accounts that Diaz appeared to grimace and gasp as the execution dragged.
A second FDLE agent would keep a detailed log of the activities of the execution team.
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Florida News