As Mark Elliott has pointed out, this is not about what the prisoner has done but about what we do.

On Monday, February 19, the Governor’s Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection heard testimony from the medical professional who oversaw the execution of Angel Diaz. I invite you to listen to a portion of his testimony, as recorded by one of the reporters present at the meeting. Go to www.fadp.org and click on the box marked “Audio.” I found this testimony sobering, to put it mildly.

The state’s protocols for lethal injection provide that the prisoner first receives an anesthetic so he or she will be unconscious for the rest of the procedure. A second drug paralyzes the (now unconscious) prisoner, and a third induces cardiac failure. All agree that the third drug produces brief but intense pain. The main purpose of the anesthetic is to avoid that pain by first rendering the prisoner unconscious. Notice from the audio that the executioners inserted the IV in Angel Diaz’s other arm after they had difficulty with the first insertion. With the second set of injections they by-passed the anesthetic and went directly to the third drug.

As Mark Elliott has pointed out, this is not about what the prisoner has done but about what we do.