{"id":274523,"date":"2022-08-21T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T20:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=274523"},"modified":"2022-08-19T14:58:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T19:58:40","slug":"suffocating-botched-death-penalty-executions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/suffocating-botched-death-penalty-executions\/","title":{"rendered":"‘He was suffocating’: Botched death row executions serve as warning sign for assisted suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A man recently executed on death row is said to have suffered for hours during a horrifically botched execution, and this is raising questions about the death penalty in the United States. Lethal injection was embraced because it was said to be a more humane way of executing people \u2014\u00a0so humane, in fact, that it’s been embraced for other purposes, like assisted suicide and euthanasia. But as botched death penalty executions show, a lethal injection may not be as peaceful or humane as they have been portrayed.<\/p>\n

The drugs don’t discriminate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The drugs used to carry out assisted suicide and euthanasia<\/a> are essentially the same as those used during lethal injections<\/a>. A 2021 op-ed from Dr. Joel Zivot, an associate professor of anesthesiology and surgery at the Emory School of Medicine, explained<\/a> the reality of these deaths, as Zivot has witnessed multiple executions firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe death penalty is not the same as assisted dying, of course. Executions are meant to be punishment; euthanasia is about relief from suffering,\u201d he said. \u201cYet for both euthanasia and executions, paralytic drugs are used. These drugs, given in high enough doses, mean that a patient cannot move a muscle, cannot express any outward or visible sign of pain. But that doesn\u2019t mean that he or she is free from suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

In instances of both assisted suicide and lethal injection, the person is given a drug to sedate and paralyze them (such as pentobarbital or midazolam), followed by an agent to stop the heart (such as potassium chloride or digoxin). The setting is different, but the methodology is the same. And, indeed, so is the outcome.<\/p>\n

Suffering before death<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe Nathan James Jr. was executed<\/a> in late July. Prison officials reportedly\u00a0struggled<\/a> to insert an IV, leaving him with wounds all over his knuckles, wrists, and arms. “Alabama\u2019s execution of Joe Nathan James Jr. took longer than any lethal injection in recorded U.S. history, and may even be the longest execution ever using any method,” Reprieve, a human rights advocacy organization, tweeted<\/a>. “Subjecting someone to 3 hours of pain and suffering is the definition of cruel & unusual punishment.”<\/p>\n

It’s believed that the beginnings of James’ execution took place behind closed doors, in private, before finishing the execution before witnesses.<\/p>\n

And, as Zivot pointed out in 2021, botched executions are hardly rare. Marcus Wellons, for example, was executed using the same drugs as those used in assisted suicide. And because people like James and Wellons are sedated and paralyzed before they are killed, it is impossible to know if they are experiencing pain.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Disturbing revelations about assisted suicide: \u2018They may end up drowning\u2019<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWellons\u2019s autopsy revealed that his lungs were profoundly congested with fluid, meaning they were around twice the normal weight of healthy lungs,\u201d Zivot said. \u201cHe had suffered what is known as pulmonary edema, which could only have occurred as he lay dying. Wellons had drowned in his secretions. Yet even my medical eye detected no sign of distress at his execution.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was due to the use of pentobarbital, which Zivot noted is frequently used in assisted suicide. “In Oregon, four in five assisted suicides have employed pentobarbital or its close relatives,” he wrote, adding, “If a post-mortem examination were to be performed on a body after assisted suicide, it\u2019s very likely that similar pulmonary oedema would be found.”<\/p>\n

And yet, people are told that assisted suicide is a peaceful, compassionate, dignified way to die. It’s something Zivot says is nothing less than a lie. \u201cAdvocates of assisted dying owe a duty to the public to be truthful about the details of killing and dying,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople who want to die deserve to know that they may end up drowning, not just falling asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

More violent than expected<\/strong><\/p>\n

People tend to think of things like hanging, gas chambers, and the electric chair as the causes of botched executions, likely because they look more violent on the surface. After all, when someone is in the electric chair, they can move and scream and react; when undergoing assisted suicide or a lethal injection, the person is paralyzed. Yet as this list<\/a> shows, lethal injection has a higher<\/em> rate of being botched, and it is no less violent:<\/p>\n