The narrative around lethal injection drugs in the United States has been complicated since 1977. That’s when Dr. Jay Chapman, an Oklahoma medical examiner, developed a three-drug combination that could be used in place of electrocution to execute prisoners.
Lethal injection was considered by some officials to be “less barbarous” and was first used to kill a prisoner in Texas in 1982. The method was soon adopted by other states, including Georgia, which switched from electrocution to lethal injection in 2001.
Over the past 35 years, the specific drugs have changed, and, in some states, the number of drugs used has been modified from three to two or even one drug.
Yet, how the drugs work is an enduring point of contention. The intent of lethal injection is to end a prisoner’s life without pain. In the video below, we show you how the drugs are supposed to work in both three-drug and one-drug protocols.
Get the full story here, where you'll find a video explainer, an article on what can go wrong, videos about witnessing an execution, the last AJC interview with condemned prisoner Kelly Gissendaner, and much more.
About the Author
