AMNESTY CALLS FOR DOCTORS TO BOYCOTT LETHAL INJECTION

October 4, 2007: Amnesty International has urged doctors and nurses not to participate in executions by lethal injection as it breaches their ethical oath. In a report the group says the cocktail of drugs used is not always quick and painless and can cause "excruciating pain and extreme mental suffering". The execution method is common in the US and is on the rise in China.
The US Supreme Court last week agreed to hear a challenge that lethal injections violate the constitution. Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all forms.
In its new report, "Execution by lethal injection - a quarter century of state poisoning", it says governments should not put doctors and nurses in the position of carrying out an action contrary to their ethical oath. Jim Welsh, the group's health and human rights co-ordinator, said: "Medical professionals are trained to work for patients' well-being, not to participate in executions ordered by the state."
The report also challenges the cocktail of three drugs commonly used in executions. It says that Texas, the biggest US user of lethal injections, has banned the same drugs for dogs and cats on the grounds of the potential pain they may suffer. The group says the drug used to induce unconsciousness can wear off before the prisoner's heart stops, causing extreme physical and mental strain. The patients are, however, in a "chemical straitjacket" and cannot convey their distress, it says. Amnesty cites case studies of US prisoners suffering for about 30 minutes in "botched" executions. (Sources: BBC, 04/10/2007)