Judge Upholds Ruling: Lethal Injection Procedure Unconstitutional

A federal judge has upheld his previous ruling that Missouri’s three-drug lethal injection protocol for inmate executions is unconstitutional, confirming that the method could cause “torturous” pain.

The new ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. comes one month after he halted every execution in the state citing that the current execution procedure poses an unreasonable risk to inmates and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.  

Last June, Gaitan ordered the Missouri Department of Correction to overhaul its execution protocol. He noted that if the three drugs used in lethal injection are not administered correctly, it could subject inmates to severe pain. More shocking, the inmates would not be able to express their pain, as one of the drugs paralyzes them completely, Gaitan said during his September ruling.

During that ruling, Gaitan gave the state until the end of October to propose a revised protocol. However, the Department of Corrections argued that the procedure is constitutional and resubmitted the same protocol proposal asking Gaitan to reconsider.

“The state’s response does nothing to address these concerns and indicates ita lack of willingness to even attempt to comply with the court’s order,” Gaitan wrote in his ruling on Monday.

The judge has ordered Missouri to improve inmate monitoring during lethal injection to ensure they are given the proper amount of anesthesia during the process. An anesthesiologist or doctor trained in anesthesia must also be present to mix the drugs or oversee the mixing of the drugs.

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