Two assassination attempts aborted
Problems with every third execution in the USA
12/17/2022, 7:55 am
The number of executions in the United States is lower than ever – also because many states have abolished the death penalty. A study provides them with new arguments: Accordingly, there are “significant problems” with many executions with lethal injection.
Complications and problems arose in a third of lethal injection executions in the US this year. According to a study by the Death Penalty Information Center, 18 people have been sentenced to death in the United States so far this year. Apart from the Corona years, this is the lowest value since 1991.
Kenneth Eugene Smith was to die.
(Photo: AP)
According to the information, there were a total of 20 execution attempts in the United States this year, two of which were aborted due to massive problems. The Death Penalty Information Center, which specializes in the death penalty, said there were “significant problems” in seven attempts. It reported “incompetence on the part of the executers, non-compliance with protocols, or errors in the protocols”.
In the nearly 40 years that lethal injection has been in use, states have encountered various problems with the method of execution — including difficulty finding a suitable vein, needles that came off, or problems with the deadly chemicals. Most recently, an execution in Alabama was called off after prison officials could not find a suitable second vein for Kenneth Eugene Smith to inject the deadly drugs. The protocol for executions in the state requires two suitable veins to be found for injection, with the second used in the event of a problem with the first.
Fierce debate about the death penalty
Officials initially attempted a centralized approach to Smith, which involves inserting a catheter into a large vein. To do this, the affected area often has to be enlarged with a scalpel. In Alabama, however, prison officials finally decided to call off the trial when it became clear that the execution could not be completed by the midnight deadline. Alabama initially suspended the practice of executions by lethal injection.
The use of the death penalty in the United States has repeatedly been the subject of fierce criticism and disputes. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 37 of the 50 states have abolished the death penalty or have not used it for more than ten years. Many manufacturers of the drugs used in the lethal injections now refuse to sell their products to states that still use the death penalty.