Backing Up 5 Yards and Punting

Tennessee, as other states, has been affected by the decision of the one US drug maker that makes sodium thiopental, the anesthetic used in executions, to stop making the drug. The State, facing upcoming executions, is considering using pentobarbital, an anesthetic used when euthanizing animals. Ohio has "committed" itself to the alternative, and other neighboring states are considering it. Tennessee would not need legislative approval to make the change, since the decision is regulatory in nature, and it would only need a change of policy within the Department of Corrections. As expected, inmates scheduled for execution have joined lawsuits challenging the use of the pentobarbital and any sodium thiopental obtained from overseas. We'll see how this plays out.

See http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110206/NEWS0201/102060376/1969/NEWS/Tennessee-has-few-options-execution-drugs?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Stay of execution in Tennessee -- Ruling on the Lethal Injection Process

Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled on Friday that Tennessee's lethal injection protocol was unconstitutional. This is a huge ruling because it will ultimately delay two scheduled executions. Stephen Michael West was scheduled to be executed November 30, and Billy Ray Irick, who joined the case as a plaintiff, had his execution scheduled for December 7 (Pearl Harbor Day). Because of the ruling, a stay of execution was issued, and those executions may not be held on those days unless all appeals have been exhausted. At this point, the State will appeal, and it has 30 days to do so. Chancellor Bonnyman reasoned that the level of sodium thiopental, which causes unconsciousness, was insufficient and that the inmate was effectively suffocating to death while being conscious. She found that effect to violate the inmate's constitutional rights. Stay tuned . . .

For Tennessean article, see http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101120/NEWS03/11200332/2066