[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI

[Rick Halperin]

May 25



MISSOURI:

Anesthesiologist joins Missouris execution team, violating ethical
guidelines


Despite the medical professions ethical guidelines against it, an
anesthesiologist has joined the team that will carry out executions in
Missouri.

The doctor's presence on the team was revealed recently in a federal court
case brought by several death row inmates concerning the qualifications
and training of Missouris execution team members.

With all the pieces of its execution team apparently in place, the state
is now ready after a hiatus of 2 years to once again execute condemned
prisoners whenever the Missouri Supreme Court issues the order.

The Missouri Department of Corrections will not reveal the doctor's name
or specific role on the team.

The doctor's identity also will not be provided to the attorneys
representing the death row inmates in the federal case, although they will
be given information about licensure and qualifications.

Citing the ongoing litigation, attorneys for the death row inmates said
they could not comment.

Department of Corrections officials also declined to comment, except to
say that the team's doctor and 2 nurses "will perform the duties assigned
to them in the DOC's lethal injection protocol."

Those duties include preparing the chemicals, inserting intravenous lines,
monitoring the prisoner and supervising the injection of chemicals by
corrections employees.

All of those actions violate the American Medical Association's policy
against physician participation in executions. The American Society of
Anesthesiologists has adopted the AMA's stance.

"It is a fundamental and unwavering principle that anesthesiologists,
consistent with their ethical mandates, cannot use their art and skill to
participate in an execution," the society stated in a brief it filed last
year in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The AMA first adopted its ethical stance in 1980. Its current policy
states:

"A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life
when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally
authorized execution."

But neither professional group has an official policy on capital
punishment in general. The AMA policy states: "An individual's opinion on
capital punishment is the personal moral decision of the individual."

And neither group has the power to discipline a doctor who does not comply
with the ethics policy.

Physician participation in executions long has been controversial, with
some arguing that the best way to ensure that inmates are put to death
humanely is to have a highly-trained professional involved.

"The good news is that if the anesthesiologist is qualified  such
involvement should heighten the likelihood that lethal injections will be
carried out humanely," said death penalty expert Deborah Denno, a
professor at the Fordham University School of Law. "On the other hand, the
anesthesiologist who has volunteered in Missouri is violating the ethical
prohibitions of his or her profession, and attorneys should be entitled to
investigate why such a physician would be willing to do that."

The issue drew attention to Missouri in 2006 when the surgeon who
previously oversaw the state's executions testified in another court case
that he was dyslexic and sometimes transposed numbers.

Identified in court as John Doe I, the doctor also admitted using only
half the prescribed dose of anesthesia during the state's last execution
in October 2005 without notifying corrections officials.

(source: Kansas City Star)