CA: Federal Judge Orders Changes to Lethal Injection Cocktail and Protocol

From DPIC: Ruling that the current mix of drugs used to carry out California's lethal injections may constitute cruel and unusual punishment, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ordered California to alter its lethal injection procedures before it carries out the scheduled execution of Michael Morales on February 21. Fogel, who said he is troubled by the prospect that inmates may be conscious and undergoing extreme pain once a paralyzing agent and then a heart-stopping drug are administered during executions, ordered the state to either: 1) have an expert present at the exection to ensure that Morales is unconscious from the sedative; or 2) replace the state's three-drug execution mix with a single lethal dose of a barbiturate. Here is the judge's order, and here is a link to information about the methods of execution. [Mark Godsey]