Drug Used In Federal Executions May Cause 'Unnecessary Pain And Suffering,' DOJ Says [View all]
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Source: Huff Post/AP
Jan 16, 2025, 07:41 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is rescinding its protocol for federal executions that allowed for single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital, after a government review raised concerns about the potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s order to withdraw the lethal injection policy comes days before President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to restart federal executions, is set to return to the White House. Trump’s Justice Department could reinstate the protocol to use pentobarbital as a single drug to carry out executions.
A moratorium on federal executions has been in place since 2021, and only three defendants remain on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.
The governments’ findings about the potential risks of unnecessary pain could have broader implications. Legal challenges have been brought in several states where pentobarbital is the primary method of execution, potentially leading to reviews of execution protocols nationwide.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-rescind-lethal-injection-protocol-federal-executions_n_6789a53ae4b0d7aa5006a228
Link to DOJ MEMORANDUM (PDF) - https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1384571/dl
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