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The Death Penalty May Face More Changes and Regulations
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The only U.S. maker of the anesthetic used in executions announced Friday that it will stop manufacturing sodium thiopental. Discontinuing the drug in California will cause the state to revise laws governing executions and those seeking supplies from foreign makers may be turned away by countries that condemn capital punishment.
According to Elisabeth Semel, a UC Berkeley law professor, the state's new protocols specify use of sodium thiopental as the first drug in the three-injection sequence, and any substitution would require the state to again revise the protocols.
Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said, "Long-term, I expect that the states will follow the lead of Oklahoma and switch to another drug without a supply problem. Short-term, this requires going through the cumbersome regulation process with comment-spamming by the anti-death-penalty crowd." He suggests that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation start the legal revision immediately "so as to have it completed before an actual supply problem delays and denies justice again."
According to Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said states with the death penalty will now have to turn to a different anesthetic or seek sodium thiopental from a foreign supplier, "both of which have pitfalls."
U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel has been reviewing California's new lethal injection procedures and is expected to rule soon on whether they comply with the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
If you or someone you know is being accused of a crime,
contact the
Hedding law firm today at (818) 986-2092. Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys have an extensive amount of experience with these types of cases and will work hard to get the best possible outcome for your unique case.
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Posted By Admin on
January 24, 2011 04:03 pm |
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