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Physician Participation in Executions, the Morality of Capital Punishment, and the Practical Implications of Their Relationship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Paul Litton
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Over the past several years, the most widely publicized issue in capital litigation has been the constitutional status of states’ lethal injection protocols. Death row inmates have not challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection itself, but rather execution protocols and their potential for maladministration. The inmates’ concern is due to the three-drug protocol used in the vast majority of capital jurisdictions: if the anesthetic, which is administered first, is ineffectively delivered, then the second and third drugs — the paralytic and heartbeat-ceasing agents — will cause torturous pain and suffering in violation of the Eight Amendment. Inmates have argued that the participation of anesthesiologists or other highly trained medical professionals is constitutionally required to minimize the risk of unnecessary suffering. This litigation, in conjunction with evidence that some executed inmates suffered torturous pain, has reinvigorated the ethical debate about physician participation in executions. Even though the United States Supreme Court has signaled that physician participation is not constitutionally required, lawmakers in death penalty states must consider the ethics of physician involvement.

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Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , Spring 2013 , pp. 333 - 352
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Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2013

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For example, let's say punishment is justified on retributive grounds; the death penalty achieves more retributive justice than life-without-parole when applicable; but moral costs (e.g., racial discrimination in application) and financial costs slightly outweigh its contribution to retributive justice.Google Scholar
Perhaps no one deserves death, the death penalty deters no one, and it even causes more murders because it normalizes revenge.Google Scholar
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