http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
From the teastinmony of :
Jacqueline M. Martin, M.D.
On Thursday July 28, 2011 the State called Jacqueline M. Martin, M.D., as a witness. Without objection she was sworn by both the clerk of Courts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and a court reporter authorized to give an oath in New York, N.Y. from where the witness testified by telephone.
She stated that she was a witness to the June 23, 2011 execution of Roy Blankenship in Georgia. She is a physician licensed to practice in Georgia and also the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She obtained her medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico in 1985. She has also acted as Deputy Medical Examiner in Rochester, N.Y. and from 1997-1999 she was the Medical Examiner in Palm Beach County, Florida. Though she is not a clinical physician she was trained in medical school to administer anesthesia. This was the third execution that she attended.
According to Dr. Martin she sat on the front row in the witness viewing area. She could see clearly from where she was and could see into the execution chamber. She was about 5 feet away from the inmate. Blankenship was strapped
12
down with I.V. lines in each arm. There was a nurse on the right of the gurney and officers to the left and right. The warden read the execution order and left. Two (2) to three (3) minutes after the warden left, Blankenship looked to his left arm and moved his mouth-he had no teeth-and looked at his right arm, put his head down on the pillow and stayed put. She saw no obvious signs of distress or facial features indicating pain.
She did not consult with the Department of Corrections or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation afterward. It is part of her duties as M.E. to view the execution.
Dr. Martin‘s testimony is consistent with that of Mr. Harper. She is a medical professional who could see Blankenship‘s actions and facial features. Her interpretation of his reactions to the drugs substantiate that Blankenship in no way experienced pain or suffering.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
John Harper - the hearing in Miami
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
From the testimony in Miami Court of :
John Harper
On July 28, 2011, the State presented witness John Harper, who being sworn by the Clerk of Court, stated the following:
He is a 23 year employee of the Georgia Department of Corrections ("GDC"). He has attended all 28 lethal injections in Georgia as part of his duties.
He witnessed the June 23, 2011 execution of Roy Blankenship at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. He was in the
10
mechanical room which is physically behind the execution chamber during the execution. That area is separated from the execution chamber by a one-way mirror and the gurney on which Blankenship lay restrained is 86 inches from where Harper was located in the mechanical room. His view was mostly unobstructed; however, people did walk in front of him. He could see Blankenship‘s left side profile. Blankenship had an intravenous line into each of his arms. He saw Blankenship look around and look at his left arm about five (5) seconds after the start of the first syringe. However, the pentobarbital was first administered to Blankenship‘s right arm. He heard Blankenship make a ―grunt‖ sound. Harper knew when the drugs were administered because he was given a signal and he was keeping a time log. About ten (10) seconds passed between the time the syringe was pushed and when Blankenship appeared to be unconscious. There was no flailing or thrashing. After the pentobarbital was administered a consciousness check was performed and Blankenship did not respond.
Of all the witnesses on the issue of the Blankenship execution, Harper is the most credible on this topic. He actually could hear and could see the pushing of the syringes and was keeping a time log. His testimony is in keeping, ironically, with the acceptable parameters testified to by Dr. Waisel. Waisel stated that if the pentobarbital were to work properly that it would take effect within fifteen (15)
11
seconds. That it did, according to the only witness able to testify with any degree of certainty as to the timing of the administration of the drugs and rendering of unconsciousness.
From the testimony in Miami Court of :
John Harper
On July 28, 2011, the State presented witness John Harper, who being sworn by the Clerk of Court, stated the following:
He is a 23 year employee of the Georgia Department of Corrections ("GDC"). He has attended all 28 lethal injections in Georgia as part of his duties.
He witnessed the June 23, 2011 execution of Roy Blankenship at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. He was in the
10
mechanical room which is physically behind the execution chamber during the execution. That area is separated from the execution chamber by a one-way mirror and the gurney on which Blankenship lay restrained is 86 inches from where Harper was located in the mechanical room. His view was mostly unobstructed; however, people did walk in front of him. He could see Blankenship‘s left side profile. Blankenship had an intravenous line into each of his arms. He saw Blankenship look around and look at his left arm about five (5) seconds after the start of the first syringe. However, the pentobarbital was first administered to Blankenship‘s right arm. He heard Blankenship make a ―grunt‖ sound. Harper knew when the drugs were administered because he was given a signal and he was keeping a time log. About ten (10) seconds passed between the time the syringe was pushed and when Blankenship appeared to be unconscious. There was no flailing or thrashing. After the pentobarbital was administered a consciousness check was performed and Blankenship did not respond.
Of all the witnesses on the issue of the Blankenship execution, Harper is the most credible on this topic. He actually could hear and could see the pushing of the syringes and was keeping a time log. His testimony is in keeping, ironically, with the acceptable parameters testified to by Dr. Waisel. Waisel stated that if the pentobarbital were to work properly that it would take effect within fifteen (15)
11
seconds. That it did, according to the only witness able to testify with any degree of certainty as to the timing of the administration of the drugs and rendering of unconsciousness.
Dr. David Waisel - the hearing in Miami
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
From the testimony in Miami Circuit Court :
Dr. David Waisel
On Tuesday August 2, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. the defense presented Dr. David B. Waisel, M.D. who testified after being duly sworn by the Clerk of the Court as follows:
He is a practicing anesthesiologist at Children‘s Hospital Boston and an Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School. He has been practicing clinical anesthesiology, primarily pediatric anesthesiology, for approximately 18 years. He has written numerous articles and teaches courses on anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School and presents to other physicians in his field both nation and worldwide.
He further has provided consultation for the death penalty clinic at University of California Berkeley and testimony on the Pavatt (Oklahoma) execution and DeYoung and Blankenship (Georgia) executions. He has also
provided consultations in written form for death penalty litigation in Delaware, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
He has been asked by the attorneys who represent the Defendant to provide an expert medical and scientific opinion about observations of the execution of Roy Blankenship by lethal injection on June 23, 2011.
Dr. Waisel was not in attendance at the execution. His information about the execution comes from the affidavit and interview of an eyewitness, Greg Bluestein, a reporter, whose report is the type of information experts in his field normally and regularly rely on in forming expert opinions. He also reviewed the affidavits of other purported eye witnesses who are also reporters; i.e., Eddie Ledbetter and Mitchell Peace. He also reviewed and relied on the 2007 and 2011 Florida lethal injection protocol as well as defense Exhibit #A and other affidavits described as approximately twelve (12) DOC officials without further elaborating.
Waisel opined that Blankenship ―suffered extremely‖ based on Waisel‘s understanding of what took place; that is, that Blankenship looked at one arm with ―discomfort‖, looked at the other arm ―with pain‖, grimaced, jerked his head up, mouthed words and all of this lasted for three (3) minutes. He is also of the impression that pentobarbital was used and that had the pentobarbital worked properly Blankenship would have moved for only fifteen (15) seconds after the
drug was administered. Dr. Waisel never opined as to what time the pentobarbital was administered.
Waisel testified that he does not know the proper amount of pentobarbital necessary to anesthetize the patient; only to sedate them. He stated that sedation and anesthetizing can be viewed along a continuum. Sedation would be at one end where a sedated patient may still be responsive and the anesthetized patient may be unconscious enough to have open-heart surgery. The average patient he stated to be 150 pounds and the proper dosage for sedation with pentobarbital would be from 100 to 500 mg. The amount used by the state for anesthetizing the inmate, he acknowledged, to be 5000 mg. but claims that he cannot say that the dosage is actually 10 times the sedation dosage because there has not been enough testing. He calls this use of pentobarbital an off-label use. He acknowledges that there are legitimate off-label uses for drugs. That is, the use as an anesthetic in execution is not the ―intended use‖ of the manufacturer. Only when a drug has been tested systematically can one begin to reliably assess how an untested use of a drug will affect human subjects, according to Dr. Waisel. Because we do not have sufficient data, there is no way to know, in any given case, how an overdose of pentobarbital will affect basically healthy inmates.
Waisel admitted that Blankenships movements could indicate discomfort or pain. He conceded that sodium thiopental, which he says was an ideal drug for use in executions, is an ultra short-acting barbiturate while pentobarbital is a short to intermediate-acting barbiturate.
This witnesses‘ testimony cannot and does not establish the necessary ―substantial risk of serious harm‖. His testimony is based on speculation and, is therefore, inherently unreliable. At the very least, he does not establish a reasonable effective, readily implemented alternative to pentobarbital. See Baze at 52. Further he does not establish that pentobarbital will not work. He seriously doesn‘t know. His testimony falls far short of meeting the required standard of ―demonstrating a substantial likelihood of serious harm.‖
From the testimony in Miami Circuit Court :
Dr. David Waisel
On Tuesday August 2, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. the defense presented Dr. David B. Waisel, M.D. who testified after being duly sworn by the Clerk of the Court as follows:
He is a practicing anesthesiologist at Children‘s Hospital Boston and an Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School. He has been practicing clinical anesthesiology, primarily pediatric anesthesiology, for approximately 18 years. He has written numerous articles and teaches courses on anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School and presents to other physicians in his field both nation and worldwide.
He further has provided consultation for the death penalty clinic at University of California Berkeley and testimony on the Pavatt (Oklahoma) execution and DeYoung and Blankenship (Georgia) executions. He has also
provided consultations in written form for death penalty litigation in Delaware, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
He has been asked by the attorneys who represent the Defendant to provide an expert medical and scientific opinion about observations of the execution of Roy Blankenship by lethal injection on June 23, 2011.
Dr. Waisel was not in attendance at the execution. His information about the execution comes from the affidavit and interview of an eyewitness, Greg Bluestein, a reporter, whose report is the type of information experts in his field normally and regularly rely on in forming expert opinions. He also reviewed the affidavits of other purported eye witnesses who are also reporters; i.e., Eddie Ledbetter and Mitchell Peace. He also reviewed and relied on the 2007 and 2011 Florida lethal injection protocol as well as defense Exhibit #A and other affidavits described as approximately twelve (12) DOC officials without further elaborating.
Waisel opined that Blankenship ―suffered extremely‖ based on Waisel‘s understanding of what took place; that is, that Blankenship looked at one arm with ―discomfort‖, looked at the other arm ―with pain‖, grimaced, jerked his head up, mouthed words and all of this lasted for three (3) minutes. He is also of the impression that pentobarbital was used and that had the pentobarbital worked properly Blankenship would have moved for only fifteen (15) seconds after the
drug was administered. Dr. Waisel never opined as to what time the pentobarbital was administered.
Waisel testified that he does not know the proper amount of pentobarbital necessary to anesthetize the patient; only to sedate them. He stated that sedation and anesthetizing can be viewed along a continuum. Sedation would be at one end where a sedated patient may still be responsive and the anesthetized patient may be unconscious enough to have open-heart surgery. The average patient he stated to be 150 pounds and the proper dosage for sedation with pentobarbital would be from 100 to 500 mg. The amount used by the state for anesthetizing the inmate, he acknowledged, to be 5000 mg. but claims that he cannot say that the dosage is actually 10 times the sedation dosage because there has not been enough testing. He calls this use of pentobarbital an off-label use. He acknowledges that there are legitimate off-label uses for drugs. That is, the use as an anesthetic in execution is not the ―intended use‖ of the manufacturer. Only when a drug has been tested systematically can one begin to reliably assess how an untested use of a drug will affect human subjects, according to Dr. Waisel. Because we do not have sufficient data, there is no way to know, in any given case, how an overdose of pentobarbital will affect basically healthy inmates.
Waisel admitted that Blankenships movements could indicate discomfort or pain. He conceded that sodium thiopental, which he says was an ideal drug for use in executions, is an ultra short-acting barbiturate while pentobarbital is a short to intermediate-acting barbiturate.
This witnesses‘ testimony cannot and does not establish the necessary ―substantial risk of serious harm‖. His testimony is based on speculation and, is therefore, inherently unreliable. At the very least, he does not establish a reasonable effective, readily implemented alternative to pentobarbital. See Baze at 52. Further he does not establish that pentobarbital will not work. He seriously doesn‘t know. His testimony falls far short of meeting the required standard of ―demonstrating a substantial likelihood of serious harm.‖
Matt Schulz - the hearing in Miami
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
From the testimony of :
Matt Schulz
The first defense witness presented was Matt David Schulz (―Schulz‖). By agreement of the parties he was sworn by the clerk of court for Miami- Dade County, Florida and testified by phone from Montgomery, Alabama.
Schulz testified that he is a three (3) year employee with the Federal Public Defender‘s Office in Montgomery, Alabama. On June 16, 2011, he witnessed the execution of his client, Eddie Powell, in Alabama. After visiting with Mr. Powell and his family and noting that Powell was in no visible distress, he was escorted by
4
the guards to a viewing room. There, he was seated, approximately 7-8 feet from Powell, who was covered with sheets except for his face and upper body and strapped down to the gurney. Schulz was facing Powell‘s left side and could see some of Powell‘s right arm also because the arms were outside of the sheets. The chaplain and warden then entered the room. The warden read the death order and asked Powell if he had any last words. The warden allowed Powell to make a last statement. The warden then walked behind Powell and made an announcement that the execution was to be carried out. The I.V. lines ran into the wall. Schulz was unable to see any activity behind that wall and unable to see when syringes were pushed. The chaplain approached Powell, spoke a few words to him, and nodded. Powell looked to the left, nodded, took a deep breath, and then put his head back down. The chaplain talked to him for 30-60 seconds. Powell lay there approximately one (1) minute then suddenly jerked his head and his upper and lower body appeared as if pressing against the restraints. Schulz believed that Powell was attempting to sit up. Powell, he said, had a look of confusion when he looked at the chaplain. Schulz asserted that Powell clenched his jaw, flexed his muscles, and his arteries bulged. His eyes rolled back in his head, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This lasted about one (1) minute. The guard approached and called his name (―Eddie, Eddie, Eddie‖) several times. He did not
5
respond. The guard did an ―eyelash check‖ to which there was no response. After a few minutes or so, he noticed that Powell‘s eyes were opened partly.
This was the first execution Schulz ever attended and it was very stressful for him.
The entire process that he observed seemed to last 20-25 minutes. He was able to see a clock directly but was not watching it. He did notice it but not until after the guard called Powell‘s name during the consciousness check.
He is not sure what the lethal injection protocol is but believes that 2500 mg. of pentobarbital is administered.1
This testimony is speculative and without more specific testimony or expert testimony it is of little value to the court in consideration of the question at hand. Even if the entire situation lasted one minute, it certainly does not establish that the Defendant suffered to establish an Eighth Amendment claim. See Baze.
From the testimony of :
Matt Schulz
The first defense witness presented was Matt David Schulz (―Schulz‖). By agreement of the parties he was sworn by the clerk of court for Miami- Dade County, Florida and testified by phone from Montgomery, Alabama.
Schulz testified that he is a three (3) year employee with the Federal Public Defender‘s Office in Montgomery, Alabama. On June 16, 2011, he witnessed the execution of his client, Eddie Powell, in Alabama. After visiting with Mr. Powell and his family and noting that Powell was in no visible distress, he was escorted by
4
the guards to a viewing room. There, he was seated, approximately 7-8 feet from Powell, who was covered with sheets except for his face and upper body and strapped down to the gurney. Schulz was facing Powell‘s left side and could see some of Powell‘s right arm also because the arms were outside of the sheets. The chaplain and warden then entered the room. The warden read the death order and asked Powell if he had any last words. The warden allowed Powell to make a last statement. The warden then walked behind Powell and made an announcement that the execution was to be carried out. The I.V. lines ran into the wall. Schulz was unable to see any activity behind that wall and unable to see when syringes were pushed. The chaplain approached Powell, spoke a few words to him, and nodded. Powell looked to the left, nodded, took a deep breath, and then put his head back down. The chaplain talked to him for 30-60 seconds. Powell lay there approximately one (1) minute then suddenly jerked his head and his upper and lower body appeared as if pressing against the restraints. Schulz believed that Powell was attempting to sit up. Powell, he said, had a look of confusion when he looked at the chaplain. Schulz asserted that Powell clenched his jaw, flexed his muscles, and his arteries bulged. His eyes rolled back in his head, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This lasted about one (1) minute. The guard approached and called his name (―Eddie, Eddie, Eddie‖) several times. He did not
5
respond. The guard did an ―eyelash check‖ to which there was no response. After a few minutes or so, he noticed that Powell‘s eyes were opened partly.
This was the first execution Schulz ever attended and it was very stressful for him.
The entire process that he observed seemed to last 20-25 minutes. He was able to see a clock directly but was not watching it. He did notice it but not until after the guard called Powell‘s name during the consciousness check.
He is not sure what the lethal injection protocol is but believes that 2500 mg. of pentobarbital is administered.1
This testimony is speculative and without more specific testimony or expert testimony it is of little value to the court in consideration of the question at hand. Even if the entire situation lasted one minute, it certainly does not establish that the Defendant suffered to establish an Eighth Amendment claim. See Baze.
DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/55912d01.pdf
DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO THIS COURT’S ORDER TO ADVISE THE COURT ON THE LEGAL AND PRUDENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STATE COURT PROCEEDINGS ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/A7543d01.pdf
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO THIS COURT’S ORDER TO ADVISE THE COURT ON
THE LEGAL AND PRUDENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STATE COURT
PROCEEDINGS ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO THIS COURT’S ORDER TO ADVISE THE COURT ON
THE LEGAL AND PRUDENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STATE COURT
PROCEEDINGS ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
DEFENDANTS’RESPONSE TO ORDER REGARDING THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT’S STAY
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/9BBFCd01.pdf
DEFENDANTS’RESPONSE TO ORDER REGARDING
THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT’S STAY
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
DEFENDANTS’RESPONSE TO ORDER REGARDING
THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT’S STAY
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO VACATE DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING REMAND - Manuel Valle
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO VACATE DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING REMAND
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PDF - http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/VALLEorder11thCircuit.pdf
Amended scheduling order from FSC
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/11/11-1387/Filed_08-03-2011_Amended_Scheduling_Order.pdf
| The order issued by this Court dated July 25, 2011, is amended as follows: The supplemental record on appeal and supplemental initial brief shall be filed no later than 2:00 PM, Friday August 12, 2011. The supplemental initial brief shall be limited to 50 pages. The supplemental answer brief shall be filed no later than 2:00 PM, Tuesday, August 16, 2011. The supplemental answer brief shall be limited to 50 pages. The supplemental reply brief shall be filed no later than 2:00 PM, Wednesday, August 17, 2011. The supplemental reply brief shall be limited to 25 pages. NO MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THE BRIEFS SHALL BE CONSIDERED. Filing of the above briefs to this Court and to opposing counsel shall be via e-mail to the following address: warrant@flcourts.org. Oral argument, if necessary, shall be held on Wednesday, August 24, 2011, at 9:00 AM. |
Friday, August 5, 2011
Well, maybe ax makers didn't care if they were used in executions
Well, maybe ax makers didn't care if they were used in executions
I was wrong.
What I was wrong about makes for an even more interesting story.
In my column last week I wrote about the death penalty and the objections of a Danish pharmaceutical company to Florida's (among other states) use of one of its drugs in the execution of condemned prisoners.
"We are adamantly opposed to the use of Nembutal to execute prisoners because it contradicts everything we are in business to do - provide therapies that improve people's lives," Staffan Schuberg, president of Lundbeck Inc., wrote in a May 16 letter to Gov. Rick Scott.
The courts, too, have an interest in Florida's use of pentobarbital in the execution of Manuel Valle, a convicted cop killer.
On Wednesday Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola rejected Valle's appeal challenging the constitutionality of Nembutal, generically called pentobarbital. An execution date has not been set.
This case will end up in front of the Florida Supreme Court before the end of the month.
In my column last week I said U.S. executions are on the decline and that evolving standards mean the death penalty is on the way out, using the angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin argument about pentobarbital as an example of that evolution.
After all, I pithily concluded, the power company didn't object to the misuse of its electricity when Florida's "Old Sparky" was in use before 2000.
Yes it did.
The beginning of electrocution as a means of executions goes back to the late 19th century and is tangled up in a marketing campaign and clash of business titans.
How very American.
Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse had competing power-delivery systems, direct current (Edison) and alternating current (Westinghouse).
It was the Beta vs. VHS of its day, if you will. Edison was an opponent of capital punishment, but marketing trumped scruples.
Among the differentiating characteristics of AC and DC electricity was safety. Both Westinghouse and Edison claimed the safer product.
Edison told a commission of the New York state Legislature that electricity was a fine way to execute someone, at least if they used AC, particularly a generator "manufactured principally ... by George Westinghouse."
Westinghouse paid for the condemned man's lawyers to challenge the state of New York, objecting to its use of his dynamos to deliver a deadly dose of voltage to a human being as cruel and unusual punishment (and, not coincidentally, very bad publicity for Westinghouse).
This is all according to author Richard Moran's "Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and the Invention of the Electric Chair."
Westinghouse refused to sell the state's contractor the dynamos to power the electric chair.
Didn't matter. The guy got AC generators from a secondary source out of state.
Sound familiar to the shenanigans of some states to get hold of the previously used sodium thiopental illegally from a U.K. source?
So, as it turns out, the power company HAS objected to the use of its juice to execute a prisoner, despite my lame joke.
It's also likely it was never a possibility in Florida for the utility to raise such an issue.
Though the Department of Corrections hasn't confirmed this, I'm told reliably that when the electric chair was Florida's primary means of execution (it remains an option for condemned prisoner's to choose), prison officials fired up their own generator to produce the power.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Judge denies Fla. execution drug challenge
Judge denies Fla. execution drug challenge
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:54 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011
Posted: 12:09 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011
MIAMI — A death row inmate's challenge to Florida's planned use of a replacement drug in executions was rejected Wednesday by a state judge, who concluded that the new lethal injection drug would not result in needless pain and suffering.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola joined other judges around the country in finding that the barbiturate pentobarbital is suitable to render a condemned inmate unconscious before two other fatal drugs are administered. Pentobarbital, marketed under the name Nembutal, is replacing a drug whose sole U.S. supplier has stopped making it.
In a 21-page decision, Scola found no evidence of a potential violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
"Usage of pentobarbital does not create an objectively unreasonable risk of suffering," Scola wrote.
The ruling came in the case of Manuel Valle, 61, who was sentenced to die for the 1978 shooting death of Coral Gables Police Officer Louis Pena. His execution would be the first in Florida using pentobarbital, and a divided Florida Supreme Court granted a one-month stay until Sept. 1 to allow time for his challenge to be reviewed.
"This drug has been used for lethal injections in many other states and has already been upheld in three federal district courts," said state Attorney General Pam Bondi. "This man killed a police officer, and his execution is long overdue."
The ruling now goes to the state Supreme Court for final review. A tentative oral argument date is set Aug. 24.
The state switched to pentobarbital earlier this summer because of a shortage of sodium thiopental, which had been a mainstay of lethal injections until its manufacturer halted production. States scrambled to find an alternative, and 18 people have been executed around the country using pentobarbital as a replacement anesthetic since Oklahoma became the first last year.
Valle's attorneys and a medical expert argued at a hearing Tuesday before Scola that pentobarbital was woefully untested in lethal injections and that there was some evidence an inmate suffered in a recent Georgia execution using it. But the state's medical expert said Florida's planned dosage would be fatal by itself and Georgia officials insisted nothing unusual happened in the execution of Roy Willard Blankenship in June.
Scola said she found the state's argument more persuasive.
"A defendant must show an objectively intolerable risk of harm which must be sure or very likely to cause needless suffering," the judge wrote. "Not only has the defendant failed to meet this standard, he has failed to present any credible evidence of any risk of needless suffering."
_____
Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
JACQUELINE HOGAN SCOLA order in Florida lethal injection case
JACQUELINE HOGAN SCOLA order
Circuit Court Judge
http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JDAS-8KDKQT/$file/VALLEorder11thCircuit.pdf
Circuit Court Judge
http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JDAS-8KDKQT/$file/VALLEorder11thCircuit.pdf
Miami judge signs off on Florida’s new lethal injection drug
Miami judge signs off on Florida’s new lethal injection drug
by Dara Kam | August 3rd, 2011A Miami judge this morning ruled that Florida corrections officials can use a new drug as part of the lethal injection “cocktail,” setting the stage for a Supreme Court show-down later this month.
The Florida Supreme Court temporarily halted the execution of convicted cop killer Manuel Valle, originally slated for Monday, until a hearing was held on the use of the drug pentobarbital. Florida Department of Corrections officials switched to the drug in a new lethal injection protocol released in June after the manufacturer of the old drug, sodium thiopental. The Danish manufacturer of pentobarbital, also known as Nembutal, twice asked Gov. Rick Scott not to use the drug for lethal injections and has stopped selling it to distributors who resell it for that use.
Valle’s lawyers argued that the drug had not been tested and that its use may cause prisoners pain during executions in violation of the cruel or unusual punishment threshold set by a previous U.S. Supreme Court opinion known as “Baze.”
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola agreed with three federal courts that already ruled the drug does not raise a substantial risk of harm.
The “usage of pentobarbital does not create an objectively unreasonable risk of suffering,” Scola wrote in her order.
Briefs from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who went to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to get the execution back on, and Valle’s lawyers are due to the Florida Supreme Court by Aug. 19, and the court has slated oral arguments for Aug. 24 if necessary.
Gov. Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Valle – his only since taking office in January – late in May. The Supreme Court rescheduled Valle’s execution for Sept. 2.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
URGENT ACTION . STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL
Further information on UA: 225/11 Index: AMR 51/069/2011 USA Date: 02 August 2011
URGENT ACTION
STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL
Manuel Valle, a Cuban national who was due to be executed in Florida on 2 August, has received a stay of execution until 1 September. He was convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978. He was 27 years old when first sent to death row. He is now 61.
On 25 July, by four votes to three, the Florida Supreme Court granted the stay of execution to allow an evidentiary hearing to be conducted on Florida’s switch from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital as the anaesthetic component of its three-drug lethal injection protocol. The Florida Department of Corrections made the change to its protocol on 8 June, as have a number of other states in the face of a shortage of sodium thiopental (see USA: An embarrassment of hitches, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/058/2011/en). Lundbeck, the Denmark-based manufacturer of pentobarbital, has condemned use of its drug in executions, and has also questioned its efficacy for this purpose. On 1 July, it announced that it would now use a “specialty pharmacy” programme that would deny distribution of the drug to prisons in US states using lethal injection.
The majority on the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the switch to pentobarbital “warrants an evidentiary hearing” in trial-level court, and that expert and other evidence presented by Manuel Valle’s lawyers had raised “a factual dispute, not conclusively refuted,” as to whether Florida’s use of pentobarbital would subject the prisoner to an unconstitutional risk of pain during execution. Among other things, the court’s majority ordered the Florida authorities to produce correspondence and documents it had received from Lundbeck regarding pentobarbital’s use in executions, “including those addressing any safety and efficacy issues”.
The Florida authorities appealed to the US Supreme Court to lift the stay of execution. The appeal was denied on 29 July.
The execution is now stayed until 5pm on 1 September 2011. Under the Florida Supreme Court’s order, the hearing in trial court has to be concluded and the judge’s finding made by 2pm on 5 August 2011. The final day of testimony is taking place today, 2 August. The case will then be briefed to the Florida Supreme Court, which will conduct oral arguments on the morning of 24 August before ruling thereafter.
Manuel Valle could face execution on or soon after 1 September if the courts rule against him.
Please continue to write, in your own language:
Acknowledging the seriousness of the crime for which Manuel Valle was sentenced to death and explaining that you are not seeking to downplay the suffering caused;
Expressing concern that Manual Valle has not had access to a meaningful and transparent clemency procedure, as required under international law, and urging Governor Scott to rectify this;
Pointing to the cruelty of the death penalty, not least subjecting someone to 33 years on death row, and noting that in that time, scores of countries have abolished the death penalty as they have come to recognize its risks, costs, ineffectiveness and incompatibility with fundamental human rights principles;
Urging Governor Scott to prevent this execution and ensure commutation of Manuel Valle’s death sentence.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND BEFORE 1 SEPTEMBER 2011 TO:
Office of Governor Rick Scott, State of Florida
The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001, USA
Fax: 1 850 487 0801
Email: http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor
Salutation: Dear Governor
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.
Date: 02 August 2011
URGENT ACTION STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
On 2 April 1978, Officer Louis Peña of the Coral Gables Police Department in Miami, Florida, was shot dead after stopping Manuel Valle and Felix Ruiz in their car. Officer Gary Spell, who arrived at the scene separately, testified that Manuel Valle had shot Officer Peña and then fired two shots at Officer Spell. Manuel Valle was charged with murder and attempted murder. Felix Ruiz was charged as an accessory and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Manuel Valle was sentenced to death in May 1978. In 1981, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that his lawyer had been prevented from adequately preparing a defence due to the speed with which the case had been brought to trial. At a new trial in 1981, Manuel Valle was again sentenced to death, but this sentence was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1986. In 1988, a new jury voted by eight to four that Manual Valle be sentenced to death.
On 30 June 2011, Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant in Manuel Valle’s case setting his execution date. The warrant stated that executive clemency was not appropriate. The state has said that a clemency process has been held, but the only information on any such process found by Manuel Valle’s current lawyers is a request made in 1992 by the then Governor, Lawton Chiles, that a clemency investigation be conducted. Manuel Valle’s lawyers have said that they can find no evidence of any clemency proceedings having been conducted, either in the 1990s or under the current governor. They have stated that “without notice, without the opportunity to be heard, without counsel, Mr Valle’s clemency proceedings, if any, did not comport with due process”. If any such proceeding has been conducted, the lawyers have asserted, “it was conducted in complete secrecy without counsel”.
The US Supreme Court has stated that executive clemency is the “fail-safe" in the criminal justice system, to provide the possibility for remedy or relief not provided by the judiciary. Under article 6.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty ratified by the USA in 1992, “anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence”. Respect for this right can only be achieved through a meaningful, transparent process, with the participation of the prisoner and his or her counsel. No such process has been conducted here, in violation of the USA’s international obligations.
Manuel Valle has been facing execution for 33 years, a torment deepened by the fact that during his time on death row more than 60 of his fellow inmates have been taken from their cells and killed by the State of Florida. The US Supreme Court has not ruled on whether prolonged confinement on death row violates the US Constitution, but individual Justices have raised concerns. In 1995, for example, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that executing a prisoner who had been on death row for 17 years arguably negated any deterrent or retributive justification for the punishment, supposedly the two main purposes of the death penalty. In 2002, in the case of an inmate who had been on death row for more than 25 years, Justice Stephen Breyer stated that if executed, the prisoner would have been “punished both by death and also by more than a generation spent in death row’s twilight. It is fairly asked whether such punishment is both unusual and cruel.” Three years earlier, he had written that “It is difficult to deny the suffering inherent in a prolonged wait for execution – a matter which courts and individual judges have long recognized”, and added that “death row conditions of special isolation may well aggravate that suffering.” In 1996, a Florida Supreme Court judge noted that death row prisoners in Florida, as now, “are maintained in a six- by nine-foot cell with a ceiling nine and one-half feet high. These prisoners are taken to the exercise yard for two-hour intervals twice a week. Otherwise, these prisoners are in their cells except for medical reasons, legal or media interviews, or to see visitors…. These facilities and procedures were not designed and should not be used to maintain prisoners for years and years.”
Name: Manuel Valle (m)
Issue (s): Death Penalty
Further information on UA 225/11 (22 July 2011)
Country: USA
Issue Date: 2 August 2011
URGENT ACTION
STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL
Manuel Valle, a Cuban national who was due to be executed in Florida on 2 August, has received a stay of execution until 1 September. He was convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978. He was 27 years old when first sent to death row. He is now 61.
On 25 July, by four votes to three, the Florida Supreme Court granted the stay of execution to allow an evidentiary hearing to be conducted on Florida’s switch from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital as the anaesthetic component of its three-drug lethal injection protocol. The Florida Department of Corrections made the change to its protocol on 8 June, as have a number of other states in the face of a shortage of sodium thiopental (see USA: An embarrassment of hitches, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/058/2011/en). Lundbeck, the Denmark-based manufacturer of pentobarbital, has condemned use of its drug in executions, and has also questioned its efficacy for this purpose. On 1 July, it announced that it would now use a “specialty pharmacy” programme that would deny distribution of the drug to prisons in US states using lethal injection.
The majority on the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the switch to pentobarbital “warrants an evidentiary hearing” in trial-level court, and that expert and other evidence presented by Manuel Valle’s lawyers had raised “a factual dispute, not conclusively refuted,” as to whether Florida’s use of pentobarbital would subject the prisoner to an unconstitutional risk of pain during execution. Among other things, the court’s majority ordered the Florida authorities to produce correspondence and documents it had received from Lundbeck regarding pentobarbital’s use in executions, “including those addressing any safety and efficacy issues”.
The Florida authorities appealed to the US Supreme Court to lift the stay of execution. The appeal was denied on 29 July.
The execution is now stayed until 5pm on 1 September 2011. Under the Florida Supreme Court’s order, the hearing in trial court has to be concluded and the judge’s finding made by 2pm on 5 August 2011. The final day of testimony is taking place today, 2 August. The case will then be briefed to the Florida Supreme Court, which will conduct oral arguments on the morning of 24 August before ruling thereafter.
Manuel Valle could face execution on or soon after 1 September if the courts rule against him.
Please continue to write, in your own language:
Acknowledging the seriousness of the crime for which Manuel Valle was sentenced to death and explaining that you are not seeking to downplay the suffering caused;
Expressing concern that Manual Valle has not had access to a meaningful and transparent clemency procedure, as required under international law, and urging Governor Scott to rectify this;
Pointing to the cruelty of the death penalty, not least subjecting someone to 33 years on death row, and noting that in that time, scores of countries have abolished the death penalty as they have come to recognize its risks, costs, ineffectiveness and incompatibility with fundamental human rights principles;
Urging Governor Scott to prevent this execution and ensure commutation of Manuel Valle’s death sentence.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND BEFORE 1 SEPTEMBER 2011 TO:
Office of Governor Rick Scott, State of Florida
The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001, USA
Fax: 1 850 487 0801
Email: http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor
Salutation: Dear Governor
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.
Date: 02 August 2011
URGENT ACTION STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
On 2 April 1978, Officer Louis Peña of the Coral Gables Police Department in Miami, Florida, was shot dead after stopping Manuel Valle and Felix Ruiz in their car. Officer Gary Spell, who arrived at the scene separately, testified that Manuel Valle had shot Officer Peña and then fired two shots at Officer Spell. Manuel Valle was charged with murder and attempted murder. Felix Ruiz was charged as an accessory and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Manuel Valle was sentenced to death in May 1978. In 1981, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that his lawyer had been prevented from adequately preparing a defence due to the speed with which the case had been brought to trial. At a new trial in 1981, Manuel Valle was again sentenced to death, but this sentence was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1986. In 1988, a new jury voted by eight to four that Manual Valle be sentenced to death.
On 30 June 2011, Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant in Manuel Valle’s case setting his execution date. The warrant stated that executive clemency was not appropriate. The state has said that a clemency process has been held, but the only information on any such process found by Manuel Valle’s current lawyers is a request made in 1992 by the then Governor, Lawton Chiles, that a clemency investigation be conducted. Manuel Valle’s lawyers have said that they can find no evidence of any clemency proceedings having been conducted, either in the 1990s or under the current governor. They have stated that “without notice, without the opportunity to be heard, without counsel, Mr Valle’s clemency proceedings, if any, did not comport with due process”. If any such proceeding has been conducted, the lawyers have asserted, “it was conducted in complete secrecy without counsel”.
The US Supreme Court has stated that executive clemency is the “fail-safe" in the criminal justice system, to provide the possibility for remedy or relief not provided by the judiciary. Under article 6.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty ratified by the USA in 1992, “anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence”. Respect for this right can only be achieved through a meaningful, transparent process, with the participation of the prisoner and his or her counsel. No such process has been conducted here, in violation of the USA’s international obligations.
Manuel Valle has been facing execution for 33 years, a torment deepened by the fact that during his time on death row more than 60 of his fellow inmates have been taken from their cells and killed by the State of Florida. The US Supreme Court has not ruled on whether prolonged confinement on death row violates the US Constitution, but individual Justices have raised concerns. In 1995, for example, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that executing a prisoner who had been on death row for 17 years arguably negated any deterrent or retributive justification for the punishment, supposedly the two main purposes of the death penalty. In 2002, in the case of an inmate who had been on death row for more than 25 years, Justice Stephen Breyer stated that if executed, the prisoner would have been “punished both by death and also by more than a generation spent in death row’s twilight. It is fairly asked whether such punishment is both unusual and cruel.” Three years earlier, he had written that “It is difficult to deny the suffering inherent in a prolonged wait for execution – a matter which courts and individual judges have long recognized”, and added that “death row conditions of special isolation may well aggravate that suffering.” In 1996, a Florida Supreme Court judge noted that death row prisoners in Florida, as now, “are maintained in a six- by nine-foot cell with a ceiling nine and one-half feet high. These prisoners are taken to the exercise yard for two-hour intervals twice a week. Otherwise, these prisoners are in their cells except for medical reasons, legal or media interviews, or to see visitors…. These facilities and procedures were not designed and should not be used to maintain prisoners for years and years.”
Name: Manuel Valle (m)
Issue (s): Death Penalty
Further information on UA 225/11 (22 July 2011)
Country: USA
Issue Date: 2 August 2011
Doctor: Lethal Injection Drug May Cause Pain
Doctor: Lethal Injection Drug May Cause Pain
Use Of New Execution Drug Declared Risky By Doctor
POSTED: 1:58 pm EDT August 2, 2011
UPDATED: 2:24 pm EDT August 2, 2011
UPDATED: 2:24 pm EDT August 2, 2011
MIAMI, Fla. -- A doctor testifying for a death row inmate said Florida's planned use of a new lethal injection drug could cause extreme pain in executions.Dr. David Waisel testified Tuesday that pentobarbital hasn't been sufficiently tested to ensure an inmate is unconscious before deadly drugs are administered. States are using the new drug because the previous well-tested drug is unavailable.
Click Like For Central Florida News Updates: Doctor: new Fla. Execution drug risky to inmate
Top news stories - AP State GA
Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/08/02/1680002/doctor-new-fla-execution-drug.html#ixzz1TtquHGig
Tuesday, Aug. 02, 2011
Doctor: new Fla. Execution drug risky to inmate
- AP Legal Affairs Writer
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MIAMI -- A doctor testifying for a death row inmate convicted of killing a police officer 33 years ago testified Tuesday that Florida's planned use of a replacement drug for lethal injections could cause extreme pain in executions.
Dr. David Waisel, a Boston anesthesiologist, said the drug pentobarbital commonly sold as Nembutal, hasn't been sufficiently tested to ensure an inmate is unconscious before deadly drugs are administered. States are using the replacement drug because the sole U.S. manufacturer stopped making it.
Waisel said use of pentobarbital "exposes the inmate to extraordinary risk" compared with the old drug, sodium thiopental. He said pentobarbital is most commonly used as a sedative and that its effectiveness in rendering a person unconscious is not well known.
Dr. David Waisel, a Boston anesthesiologist, said the drug pentobarbital commonly sold as Nembutal, hasn't been sufficiently tested to ensure an inmate is unconscious before deadly drugs are administered. States are using the replacement drug because the sole U.S. manufacturer stopped making it.
Waisel said use of pentobarbital "exposes the inmate to extraordinary risk" compared with the old drug, sodium thiopental. He said pentobarbital is most commonly used as a sedative and that its effectiveness in rendering a person unconscious is not well known.
http://twitter.com/Miamicurt "We're taking a drug that we know everything about, replacing it with a drug we know almost nothing about in terms of inducing anesthesia in otherwise healthy people," Waisel said. "If it did not work, they would feel the incredibly burning pain" of the lethal heart-stopping drug, potassium chloride.
Waisel testified on behalf of 61-year-old Manuel Valle, who was sentenced to death for the 1978 fatal shooting of Coral Gables Police Officer Louis Pena during a traffic stop. Valle's execution had been set for Tuesday - it would have been Florida's first using the replacement drug - but it was stayed until at least Sept. 1 to allow time for a judge to consider his challenge to the new lethal injection method.
Valle did not attend Tuesday's hearing. A medical expert for the state was scheduled to testify later in the day.
The Supreme Court gave Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola until Friday afternoon to issue a ruling, which will then be reviewed by the high court.
Pentobarbital has been used in 18 executions around the country since Oklahoma first did so last year. Like sodium thiopental before it, the drug is intended to render the inmate unconscious so that no pain will be felt when two other drugs that cause death are administered.
Lawyers for Valle and other condemned prisoners have seized on the June execution in Georgia of Roy Willard Blankenship, who appeared to witnesses to grimace, jerk and mutter for several minutes after the pentobarbital was administered. Waisel said based on his interviews with witnesses at the Georgia execution, "Mr. Blankenship suffered an extremely painful execution."
Last week, a Georgia corrections officer testified in the Florida challenge that nothing seemed particularly unusual about the Blankenship execution.
Attorneys for Valle failed in an attempt to introduce an affidavit about the Blankenship case by Associated Press reporter Greg Bluestein, who witnessed the execution. The affidavit affirms that stories Bluestein wrote about Blankenship's movements during the execution accurate portrayed what he saw, but Scola ruled it inadmissible as evidence.
Waisel testified on behalf of 61-year-old Manuel Valle, who was sentenced to death for the 1978 fatal shooting of Coral Gables Police Officer Louis Pena during a traffic stop. Valle's execution had been set for Tuesday - it would have been Florida's first using the replacement drug - but it was stayed until at least Sept. 1 to allow time for a judge to consider his challenge to the new lethal injection method.
Valle did not attend Tuesday's hearing. A medical expert for the state was scheduled to testify later in the day.
The Supreme Court gave Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola until Friday afternoon to issue a ruling, which will then be reviewed by the high court.
Pentobarbital has been used in 18 executions around the country since Oklahoma first did so last year. Like sodium thiopental before it, the drug is intended to render the inmate unconscious so that no pain will be felt when two other drugs that cause death are administered.
Lawyers for Valle and other condemned prisoners have seized on the June execution in Georgia of Roy Willard Blankenship, who appeared to witnesses to grimace, jerk and mutter for several minutes after the pentobarbital was administered. Waisel said based on his interviews with witnesses at the Georgia execution, "Mr. Blankenship suffered an extremely painful execution."
Last week, a Georgia corrections officer testified in the Florida challenge that nothing seemed particularly unusual about the Blankenship execution.
Attorneys for Valle failed in an attempt to introduce an affidavit about the Blankenship case by Associated Press reporter Greg Bluestein, who witnessed the execution. The affidavit affirms that stories Bluestein wrote about Blankenship's movements during the execution accurate portrayed what he saw, but Scola ruled it inadmissible as evidence.
Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/08/02/1680002/doctor-new-fla-execution-drug.html#ixzz1TtquHGig
Ga. Execution Is Fodder for Challenges to New Drug
Ga. Execution Is Fodder for Challenges to New Drug
Ga. Execution Is Fodder for Challenges to New Drug
The thrashing, jerking death of Roy Willard Blankenship has lawyers for death row inmates plotting fresh arguments against the drug used to execute him, even though they may never be able to prove that it caused the spasms in his last moments.
Medical experts say it's possible that Georgia prison staff botched the procedure last week using a controversial new sedative, that Blankenship had some sort of jarring reaction to the drug, or even that he faked it. Still, defense attorneys around the nation say they plan to cite Blankenship in requests to stop executions using pentobarbital, a chemical being adopted by a growing number of states as they run out of another commonly-used drug.
Blankenship jerked his head several times, mumbled inaudibly and appeared to gasp for breath for several minutes after he was pumped with pentobarbital on Thursday in Georgia's death chamber. Inmates are usually much more still during a lethal injection, but medical experts are split about what whether Blankenship's movements were a sign that his execution was bungled.
"As he's going to sleep, there could be many kinds of reactions. He could have had the same reaction with sodium thiopental," which was once the predominant execution drug, said Dr. Howard Nearman, who chairs the anesthesiology department at Case Western Reserve University's medical school. "And he could have been faking it. Anything's possible."
AP
FILE - In this undated file photo released by... View Full Caption
Whatever conclusions the state reaches, defense attorneys said they are planning to invoke Blankenship's execution in court filings as evidence that pentobarbital could violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"It is clear that something went very wrong during the Blankenship execution and lawyers challenging lethal injection in other states will be taking a very close look at what happened," said Ty Alper, a California attorney who represents several death row inmates and works with the death penalty clinic at the University of California-Berkeley.
The execution of Blankenship, condemned for the 1978 murder of an elderly Savannah woman, was the first in Georgia using pentobarbital as part of a three-drug execution combination. The state was forced to switch after it surrendered its supply of sodium thiopental to federal officials amid an investigation into how the drug was obtained.
Georgia is one of several states that have adopted pentobarbital, which is commonly used to destroy dogs and cats, since the sole U.S. manufacturer of sodium thiopental stopped making it in 2009 and dropped plans to resume production earlier this year.
Among the objections to the new drug were multiple challenges by Blankenship's attorneys, who argued in state and federal court that it could cause him needless pain and suffering. Each request was rejected.
As the injection began, Blankenship jerked his head toward his left arm and began rapidly blinking. He then lurched toward his right arm, lunging twice with his mouth wide open as if he were gasping for air. A minute later, he pushed his head forward while mouthing inaudible words. His eyes never closed.
The movements stopped within three minutes, and he was declared dead 12 minutes later.
Medical experts differ on whether the spasms indicate the execution was improperly carried out.
Dr. Mark Dershwitz, a University of Massachusetts anesthesiologist, said pentobarbital can sometimes cause pain and involuntary jerking movements even when it's properly injected. Case Western's Nearman said patients sometimes move during an "excitement phase" that takes hold as a patient slips out of consciousness.
Others said Blankenship's reaction is a sign the pentobarbital didn't work right.
"They clearly botched this execution and Mr. Blankenship clearly suffered," said Dr. David Waisel, a Harvard medical professor who has raised questions about using pentobarbital. He said it's clear "something went wrong."
It's rare to see an inmate struggle after a lethal injection starts. Lewis Williams had to be forcibly strapped to a gurney as he pleaded for mercy during his 2004 execution in Ohio. But observers said he went to sleep the moment sodium thiopental started.
Blankenship's execution, though, is the second example of odd movements in lethal injections involving pentobarbital this year. Eddie Duval Powell raised his head with a confused look on his face and glanced around Alabama's death chamber after he was injected with pentobarbital on June 16. He then dropped his head back down and appeared to be unconscious.
"This will become an issue," said Alabama death penalty attorney Bryan Stevenson, citing the two cases. "With Blankenship's execution, new concerns will be raised about the protocols states are employing with this new drug."
Officials in Georgia, meanwhile, are quietly trying to determine what, if anything went wrong. No new executions have been scheduled since Blankenship was put to death.
His lawyer Brian Kammer wants an independent investigation and a firmer ban on executions until such a probe is complete.
"I can't see how this is not further evidence that Georgia can't competently implement a judicial lethal injection, and that it would form the basis of future challenges," he said.
———
Associated Press reporter Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.
———
Bluestein can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein
From twitter now
AP reporter's affidavit based on story about Ga. execution deemed inadmissible in Fla. inmate's challenge to use of new drug. More to come.
Monday, August 1, 2011
State`s motion to dismiss the Valle federal complaint
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/10-main.pdf
State`s motion to dismiss the Valle federal complaint
State`s motion to dismiss the Valle federal complaint
NEW VOICES: "Alabama Juries, Not Judges, Should Decide Death Sentences"
NEW VOICES: "Alabama Juries, Not Judges, Should Decide Death Sentences"
O.H. Eaton Jr. (pictured), who served as a judge for many years in Florida, recently wrote an op-ed in the Birmingham News calling for an end to Alabama's law that allows judges to override juries' sentencing recommendations in death penalty cases. Eaton, who presided over numerous capital cases during his 24 years on the bench, said that his experience convinced him that the practive of judicial override is unfair. Citing a report recently published by the Equal Justice Initiative, Eaton noted that one-fifth of Alabama's death row inmates face execution even though their juries believed they should have been sentenced to life in prison. He wrote, "While consistency in sentencing is the argument most often heard in support of judicial override, the evidence indicates that allowing judges to ignore jury recommendations actually leads to less consistency in sentencing rather than more. Some judges are more likely to override than others. Some counties are generally more supportive of the death penalty than others. So, a death sentence ends up depending on geography and luck of the judicial draw rather than the facts of the case." Eaton suggested a short-term solution of imposing a rigorous legal standard for allowing judicial override, but ultimately he recommended that juries should make the sentencing decision. Read full op-ed below.OTHER VIEWS: Alabama juries, not judges, should decide death sentences
By O.H. EATON JR. | Special to The Birmingham News
For 24 years, I served as a trial judge in Florida, presiding over such a large number of death penalty cases that eventually I began instructing judges across the country how to try them.
Recently, I was privileged to teach judges in Alabama about death penalty trials. Florida and Alabama share the same basic death penalty scheme in which individual judges may "override" a jury recommendation and impose a death sentence in a case -- despite the fact the jury has determined a life sentence is appropriate for the defendant.
My years of experience on the bench convinced me the judicial imposition of death sentences when the jury has recommended life creates a system that is less fair, rather than more. Unfortunately, a recent report from the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative finds this practice is quite common in Alabama: one-fifth of the individuals on Alabama's Death Row are there even though juries believed they should have been sentenced to life, not death.
Murders understandably devastate the victims' loved ones and rightfully outrage communities. And the jury, as the representative of the community, is best positioned to determine whether a defendant must pay for his crime with his life.
An elected judge, on the other hand, may feel political pressure to sentence an offender harshly despite the facts. Judges may fear that when up for re-election, voters will only remember the number of death sentences they imposed, and not the facts of particular cases. This political pressure may lead a judge to impose a death sentence even when the community has determined it is not fitting for the crime.
In fact, the EJI report describes how candidates in Alabama's state judicial elections during their campaigns have boasted of their willingness to sentence murderers to death. The report even confirms the suspicion that judges' death sentences are politically motivated: In a recent election year, 30 percent of the death sentences were imposed by judicial override; compare that to less than 10 percent in a nonelection year.
While consistency in sentencing is the argument most often heard in support of judicial override, the evidence indicates that allowing judges to ignore jury recommendations actually leads to less consistency in sentencing rather than more. Some judges are more likely to override than others. Some counties are generally more supportive of the death penalty than others. So, a death sentence ends up depending on geography and luck of the judicial draw rather than the facts of the case.
There is even evidence to suggest that the race of the offender and race of the victim may affect override decisions. One Alabama judge admitted during sentencing, "If I had not imposed the death sentence (on a white defendant over the jury's recommendation of a life sentence), I would have sentenced three black people to death and no white people."
Thus, a system of judicial override creates a system in which geography, race, timing of trial and the individual judge, rather than the seriousness of the crime, determine whether one will be sentenced to death. This leads to an arbitrary and unfair administration of the death penalty, which should be imposed only when the community believes the crime to be so outrageous the offender must pay with his life.
There is a partial solution to this problem. The Florida Supreme Court imposed a rigorous legal standard for judges who want to override jury decisions in favor of life, requiring that the judge give "great weight" to the jury's recommendations and prohibiting override unless the facts in favor of a death sentence are "so clear and convincing that virtually no reasonable person could differ." The standard is so rigorous that no Florida judge has imposed death through override in 12 years -- since 1999. The Alabama Supreme Court ought to adopt a similarly rigorous standard.
But there's an even better long-term solution that only the Alabama Legislature can implement: Change the law so judges are not permitted to ignore a jury's recommendation for a life sentence. As long as elected judges are able to override juries' decisions and impose death sentences, arbitrariness and unfairness will continue to permeate the system.
O.H. Eaton Jr. served as a trial judge in the 18th Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1986 to 2010 and is a nationally recognized expert on capital trials. He serves as a member of The Constitution Project's Death Penalty Committee.
(O.H. Eaton Jr., "Alabama juries, not judges, should decide death sentences," Birmingham News, July 22, 2011). Read more New Voices.
Florida Supreme Court Stays Execution to Allow Lethal Injection Hearing
Florida Supreme Court Stays Execution to Allow Lethal Injection Hearing
On July 25, the Florida Supreme Court (4-3) stayed the August 2 execution of Manuel Valle to allow a lower court to consider a challenge to a new lethal injection drug. Last month, Florida substituted pentobarbital for sodium thiopental as the first drug in its three-drug protocol for executions. Florida and many other states were forced to seek alternatives to sodium thiopental when the drug's sole U.S. manufacturer decided to stop its production. Valle's lawyers contend that the use of pentobarbital would subject him to a substantial risk of harm because the drug has never been tested on humans for the purpose of inducing an anesthetic coma. Federal judges in Ohio and Delaware have also recently stayed executions in those states because of lethal injection challenges, although the stay in Delaware was lifted pending clarification of the basis for the stay. On separate grounds, a federal judge in Florida found the state's death penalty law unconstitutional because jurors are not given decision-making power to determine whether a defendant is eligible for the death penalty. That case is still under review.Valle's case will return to Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola in Miami, who will hear evidence on the new drug and make a ruling by August 5.
FDOC letter to the Florida Governor presenting the new protocol of lethal injection, dated June 8, 2011.
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/2-3.pdf
FDOC letter to the Florids Governor presenting the new protocol of lethal injection , dated June 8, 2011.
The Florida protocol has been changed secretly, and this new version has not been approved by the courts
Florida has changed the drugs to be used during the execution.
The new drug Nembutal is not approved by FDA, nor approved for lethal injection by the producer Lundbeck. not tested scientifically for this lethal injection purpose and can according to experts involve risk for great pain during the execution.
This is a serious violation of international law.
FDOC letter to the Florids Governor presenting the new protocol of lethal injection , dated June 8, 2011.
The Florida protocol has been changed secretly, and this new version has not been approved by the courts
Florida has changed the drugs to be used during the execution.
The new drug Nembutal is not approved by FDA, nor approved for lethal injection by the producer Lundbeck. not tested scientifically for this lethal injection purpose and can according to experts involve risk for great pain during the execution.
This is a serious violation of international law.
FDOC signed protocol of Florida lethal injection
FDOC signed protocol of Florida lethal injection
probably signed June 8, 2011
Not presented to defense until June 9, 2011
Given to media around February 2011
The draft - same as protocol was drafted in FDOC around December 2010
Presented in court in June 2011, shortly before Florida warrant issued by the Governor
Why has this not been litigated before and why presented so late and now to be litigated under the rush of a warrant?
probably signed June 8, 2011
Not presented to defense until June 9, 2011
Given to media around February 2011
The draft - same as protocol was drafted in FDOC around December 2010
Presented in court in June 2011, shortly before Florida warrant issued by the Governor
Why has this not been litigated before and why presented so late and now to be litigated under the rush of a warrant?
Expert report of David B. Waisel, MD
http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/2-2.pdf
Evaluation of Florida`s Execution Practices and Procedures and Planned Novel Use of Pentobarbital
Evaluation of Florida`s Execution Practices and Procedures and Planned Novel Use of Pentobarbital
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Convicted killer Crosley Green in search of redemption
Crosley Green, seen in 2003 at the Moore Justice Center in Viera, is serving his 21st year in prison. / 2003 FLORIDA TODAY file
Crosley Green timeline
1989March 16: Crosley Green is released from Madison Correctional Institution.
April 4: Charles "Chip" Flynn Jr., 22, is shot in the chest in a Mims orange grove.
June 8:
Green, 31, is arrested and accused of killing Flynn.
August to September: A jury finds Green guilty of murder. The next year, Judge John Antoon sentences him to die.
1992
April 1: Sheila Green signs an affidavit from prison recanting her testimony against her brother, Crosley Green. Sheila Green says she "was pressured to commit perjury against my brother."
1993
April: Defense attorney Rob Parker files a motion for a new trial. He points out that Kim Hallock was only "pretty sure" Crosley Green was the suspect. The court takes no action on the motion.
1999
Early summer: Chicago investigator Paul Ciolino agrees to look into the case after being contacted by Nan Webb, a Viera housewife.
July 31:
Ciolino and three other investigators from across the U.S. arrive in Brevard to review the case and interview witnesses, jurors and others connected to the case.
August:
Brevard County Sheriff Phil Williams and Assistant State Attorney Chris White meet with Ciolino and agree to review any new information about the Green case.
2000
Florida Department of Law Enforcement says that a DNA test on two hairs does not rule out Green as the perpetrator and the hair could come from the maternal side of Green's family.
2002
Green's attorney continues appealing his case, trying to win a new trial.
2003
A hearing takes place in front of Judge Bruce Jacobus.
2007
June: Lawyers from both sides square off before the Florida Supreme Court. The state challenges an appellate ruling from 2005, which threw out Green's death sentence.
October: Florida Supreme Court upholds Green's conviction but says that he should be resentenced.
2008 The state attorney's office says it no longer will pursue the death sentence for Green.
2009 Green is resentenced to life.
2010 Green's attorneys petition for a new trial.
2011
May: The first part of a two-part hearing for Green takes place in front of Judge David Dugan. Defense attorneys produce two new alibi witnesses for Green.
1:15 p.m. Aug. 8: Second part of scheduled hearing.
In the early morning hours of April 4, 1989, a distraught young woman called emergency responders and said her male companion had been shot in an orange grove in Mims after they were kidnapped by a black man.
"Get me out of here," he told sheriff's deputies. Flynn never disclosed the events leading to the shooting and died soon after.
Rumors swirled in the small community of Mims. Flynn's ex-girlfriend Kim Hallock, then 19, picked a man out of a photo lineup. It would be two months before Crosley Green would be arrested and charged with first-degree premeditated murder, kidnapping and robbery in Flynn's slaying.
The next year, a jury convicted Green of murder and recommended the death penalty by a vote of 8-4. Judge John Antoon upheld the recommendation.
Green is no longer on death row, the result of a Florida Supreme Court decision 18 years later in 2008 to overturn the penalty because the jury mistakenly heard about his juvenile criminal record during the trial.
Crowell and Moring, the Washington, D.C., law firm that now represents Green, is asking for a retrial, citing myriad issues, including recantations by key witnesses. The last part of a two-part hearing in front of Circuit Judge David Dugan is set for Aug. 8.
The state remains convinced Green is guilty of murder.
But Keith Harrison, who represents Green for Crowell and Moring,
believes there was a rush to judgment in the Green case and his client is innocent.
Green remains incarcerated; 2011 is the 21st year he has spent in prison.
Reviewing facts
Harrison, who works in Washington, D.C., got involved in the Green case through the American Bar Association.For 25 years, the Bar has had a program called Death Penalty Representation Project to connect defendants with competent lawyers in death penalty cases during trial, post-conviction and in federal courts.
"I was asked to find volunteer counsel for Crosley Green because there were no local defenders available to represent him," said Robin Maher, director of the project.She recruited Crowell & Moring, a firm that employs 500 attorneys nationwide and in London and Brussels, to work on the case for free.
"I started looking at this case, and looked at it from a prosecutor's perspective," said Harrison, who specializes in white collar crime. "I kept looking for more evidence and there was nothing there."
In his experience, the weakest cases are "one-witness ID" cases like Green's.
"I used to hate those as a prosecutor," said Harrison, who worked as an assistant district attorney in New York City early in his career.
He said Hallock's depiction of the kidnapping and the shooting did not make sense.
The problems, according to Harrison:
No DNA from Green was found on the shoelaces that tied Flynn's hands.
In addition, Harrison said, Hallock made several inconsistent statements, including changing her version of who tied Flynn's hands. She told a deputy at the scene that Green made her do it, while at the trial she said that Green tied the shoelace.
"It is a target with a bulls eye on Crosley. His picture is smaller and darker. Your eyes are naturally drawn to it," Harrison said. "It was the exact opposite of how it should be done."
Three main witnesses -- Sheila Green, Lonni Hillery and Jerome Murray -- have recanted, saying they lied about Green confessing to them. Sheila Green, who is Crosley's sister, later said that she made up the confession under pressure because she was facing sentencing on federal drug charges and hoped to get a favorable deal.
Another witness, Layman Layne, who testified in 2004 that Green confessed to shooting someone, said five years later that Green did not tell him anything.
Harrison said his legal team also has collected eight sworn affidavits from alibis who either saw Green or were with him away from the scene around the time of the shooting.
Repealing death
Green's trial took place in the Melbourne courthouse on Nieman Avenue in early fall of 1990.Rob Parker, Green's attorney at the time -- who now works as a prosecutor for the Brevard State Attorney's OfFice -- remembers the atmosphere in the courtroom being intense.
At one point, the state put a plea offer on the table.
"Listen, we can resolve this, if you will plea to a second-degree murder . . . we can avoid death," Parker remembers telling Green.
But Green, who was 32 at the time, refused.
"I'm not going to do it. I didn't do it," Green told his attorney.
Parker was dumbfounded.
"My sense was pretty much I was begging him," Parker said.
If he had accepted that deal, he would have been a free man by now.
The next year, Green was on Florida's death row. But the appeals that follow every death penalty were just beginning.
In 1999, the Green case got national attention when Paul Ciolino, a brash tough-talking investigator, arrived in Brevard County to pursue the case.
Ciolino, a Chicago native, had built a reputation for helping overturn death penalty cases in other parts of the country.
He and three other investigators started questioning some of the witnesses in Green's original trial. A CBS News crew traveled with them as they shot footage for an episode of the TV newsmagazine "48 Hours."
Investigators, who offered a $25,000 reward for information, outlined 132 problems with the Green case at a press conference in Cocoa Beach.
"He was not the greatest man. But they manufactured a murder case against this guy," Ciolino said recently.
That same year, in 1999, Brevard-Seminole State Attorney Norman Wolfinger asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to revisit the case.
But the 11-month investigation concluded that the hairs found in Flynn's truck tested for mitochondrial DNA did not exclude Green as a possible suspect.But the inmate kept up the challenge.
In 2007, the Florida Supreme Court upheld his conviction but ordered a re-sentencing.
Two years later, in August 2009, he was sentenced to life. The Florida Department of Corrections likely will begin an investigation in 2013 as to when he can be paroled.
High court rule
Assistant State Attorney Chris White and Phil Williams, an assistant state attorney who later became sheriff, were the prosecutors during Green's original trial.White is scheduled to retire in September. Wayne Holmes, the chief of staff for the Brevard State Attorney's Office, will now handle the Green case locally.
Holmes points to the state's high court listing a "plethora" of evidence of Green's guilt: trial testimony from Hallock, testimony from witnesses who saw Green at Holder Park and original testimony from the recanting witnesses.
He cites a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court in 2008 that the recantations by the three witnesses were unreliable and dubious and said he "respectfully disagrees" with the trial court having another hearing.
"They keep repeating that the witnesses recanted, but that issue was specifically dealt with in 2008 by Judge (Bruce) Jacobus and the Florida Supreme Court," Holmes said.
Lost in all this, he said, was the nightmare that the Flynn family had to go through.
"In their minds, they did not see justice in their lifetime," he said. "It is something that has gone on and on. There has never been a finality to it."
Seeking the truth
Harrison believes the Flynn family needs to know the truth about their loss.His firm could have walked away after Green was taken off death row.
But they did not.
At a hearing in May, where Harrison presented two alibi witnesses, Green appeared thin and frail, almost overwhelmed at the sight of so many attorneys rallying for him.
Appeals are possible if Circuit Judge David Dugan denies a retrial. Harrison said his team will pursue the case in federal court if unsuccessful in Florida.
"We are not walking away," he said.
Contact Basu at 321-242-3724 or kbasu@floridatoday.com.
Is this killing necessary?
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Is this killing necessary?
Posted on Sunday, 07.31.11
BY THOMAS WENSKI
www.miamiarch.org
Gov. Rick Scott has signed his first death warrant. While originally scheduled for Aug. 2nd, a stay granted by the Florida Supreme Court to review the lethal injection protocol will postpone the execution of Manuel Valle until September 1st. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s intervention, Gov. Scott has the opportunity to reconsider his decision — and, I along with the other bishops of Florida, urge him to do so.
Manuel Valle was found guilty of shedding innocent blood — that of a police officer, Luis Peña. He also attempted to shoot another officer, Gary Spell. These crimes are heinous — but, they were committed more than 30 years ago. After 30 years, is it necessary for the State of Florida to kill this man? Does society really make a coherent statement against killing by killing?
The argument has been made that the application of the death penalty represents the legitimate self defense of society from an unjust aggressor, i.e. the murderer. And, historically, the church has conceded the point that the government can rightly apply capital punishment when absolutely necessary, i.e. when otherwise impossible to defend society. There is, in church teaching, no moral equivalence between the execution of the guilty after due process of law and the willful destruction of innocent life that happens with abortion or euthanasia.
However, as Pope John Paul II has pointed out in Evangelium Vitae (no. 56): given the organization of today’s penal system and the option of imposing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, such an “absolute necessity” is “practically nonexistent”.
Also, it is difficult to defend the “necessity” of executing someone when often his accomplice, in exchange for information or testimony, is given through plea bargaining a lesser sentence. And while some loved ones seek “closure,” it is hard to see how capital punishment as “social retribution” or “institutional vengeance” really serves the purpose of punishment, which should be designed to redress the disorder caused by the offense. The death penalty cannot bring the victims back to life.
Even from a purely pragmatic or utilitarian point of view, the death penalty cannot be defended. It is not an effective deterrent to crime. Texas has executed more criminals than any other state; yet, it still has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. And the death penalty is not cost effective. It costs the state less to imprison someone for the remainder of his natural life than to execute him. Given that it is irreversible, society has rightly provided that it be applied only after lengthy and expensive legal appeals. And, in spite of this, there are dozens of documented cases of wrongly convicted innocent people executed in the last century.
Willful murder is a heinous crime; it cries to God for justice. Yet, God did not require Cain’s life for having spilt Abel’s blood. While God certainly punished history’s first murderer, he nevertheless put a mark on him to protect Cain from those wishing to kill him to avenge Abel’s murder (Gn 4:15). Like Cain, the condemned prisoner on death row — for all the evil of his crimes — remains a person. Human dignity — that of the convicted as well as our own — is best served by not resorting to this extreme and unnecessary punishment. Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.
The commutation to life imprisonment would serve the common good of all by helping break our society’s spiral of violence. The “eye for an eye” mentality will just end up making us all blind.
The Most Rev. Thomas Wenski is archbishop of Miami.
Manuel Valle was found guilty of shedding innocent blood — that of a police officer, Luis Peña. He also attempted to shoot another officer, Gary Spell. These crimes are heinous — but, they were committed more than 30 years ago. After 30 years, is it necessary for the State of Florida to kill this man? Does society really make a coherent statement against killing by killing?
The argument has been made that the application of the death penalty represents the legitimate self defense of society from an unjust aggressor, i.e. the murderer. And, historically, the church has conceded the point that the government can rightly apply capital punishment when absolutely necessary, i.e. when otherwise impossible to defend society. There is, in church teaching, no moral equivalence between the execution of the guilty after due process of law and the willful destruction of innocent life that happens with abortion or euthanasia.
However, as Pope John Paul II has pointed out in Evangelium Vitae (no. 56): given the organization of today’s penal system and the option of imposing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, such an “absolute necessity” is “practically nonexistent”.
Also, it is difficult to defend the “necessity” of executing someone when often his accomplice, in exchange for information or testimony, is given through plea bargaining a lesser sentence. And while some loved ones seek “closure,” it is hard to see how capital punishment as “social retribution” or “institutional vengeance” really serves the purpose of punishment, which should be designed to redress the disorder caused by the offense. The death penalty cannot bring the victims back to life.
Even from a purely pragmatic or utilitarian point of view, the death penalty cannot be defended. It is not an effective deterrent to crime. Texas has executed more criminals than any other state; yet, it still has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. And the death penalty is not cost effective. It costs the state less to imprison someone for the remainder of his natural life than to execute him. Given that it is irreversible, society has rightly provided that it be applied only after lengthy and expensive legal appeals. And, in spite of this, there are dozens of documented cases of wrongly convicted innocent people executed in the last century.
Willful murder is a heinous crime; it cries to God for justice. Yet, God did not require Cain’s life for having spilt Abel’s blood. While God certainly punished history’s first murderer, he nevertheless put a mark on him to protect Cain from those wishing to kill him to avenge Abel’s murder (Gn 4:15). Like Cain, the condemned prisoner on death row — for all the evil of his crimes — remains a person. Human dignity — that of the convicted as well as our own — is best served by not resorting to this extreme and unnecessary punishment. Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.
The commutation to life imprisonment would serve the common good of all by helping break our society’s spiral of violence. The “eye for an eye” mentality will just end up making us all blind.
The Most Rev. Thomas Wenski is archbishop of Miami.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/31/2337432/is-this-killing-necessary.html#ixzz1ThkXn82o
Lundbeck overhauls pentobarbital distribution program to restrict misuse
H. Lundbeck A/S Ottiliavej 9
Tlf +45 36 30 13 11
E-mail information@lundbeck.com
DK-2500 Valby, Denmark
Fax +45 36 43 82 62
Press release
Valby, 1 July 2011
Lundbeck overhauls pentobarbital distribution program to restrict misuse
New specialty pharmacy drop ship program will deny distribution of pentobarbital to prisons in U.S. states currently carrying out the death penalty by lethal injection.
Lundbeck today announced that the company has moved to alter the distribution of its medicine Nembutal® (pentobarbital sodium injection, USP) in order to restrict its application as part of lethal injection in the U.S. Going forward, Nembutal will be supplied exclusively through a specialty pharmacy drop ship program that will deny distribution of the product to prisons in U.S. states currently active in carrying out the death penalty by lethal injection. The company notified its distributors of the plan in late June.
The new distribution program ensures that hospitals and treatment centers will continue to have access to Nembutal for therapeutic purposes. Under the program, Lundbeck will review all Nembutal orders before providing clearance for shipping the product and deny orders from prisons located in states currently active in carrying out death penalty sentences.
Prior to receiving Nembutal, the purchaser must sign a form stating that the purchase of Nembutal is for its own use and that it will not redistribute any purchased product without express written authorization from Lundbeck. By signing the form, the purchaser agrees that the product will not be made available for use in capital punishment.
"Lundbeck adamantly opposes the distressing misuse of our product in capital punishment. Since learning about the misuse we have vetted a broad range of remedies – many suggested during ongoing dialogue with external experts, government officials, and human rights advocates. After much consideration, we have determined that a restricted distribution system is the most meaningful means through which we can restrict the misuse of Nembutal," says Ulf Wiinberg, Chief Executive Officer of H. Lundbeck A/S and continues: "While the company has never sold the product directly to prisons and therefore can’t make guarantees, we are confident that our new distribution program will play a substantial role in restricting prisons’ access to Nembutal for misuse as part of lethal injection."
Lundbeck has initiated a thorough investigation of the distribution of Nembutal to assess ways of restricting prisons’ access to the medicine. Based on the initial findings, the company believes its new distribution program is the best way to achieve this. The investigation will be completed, and any possible further options that may be discovered will be evaluated.
Prior to the implementation of the drop ship program, Nembutal was sold through a more standard process utilizing several distributors to fulfill orders based on whether customers held the appropriate federal and state licenses for ordering controlled substances.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Death drugs
Jury recommends death for Gregory
By FRANK FERNANDEZ, Staff writer 
Death drugs
Currently, 394 inmates are sitting on Florida's death row.
The state is rewriting its lethal injection procedure after Illinois-based Hospira Inc. outsourced production of Pentothal to Italy, according to news accounts. Italy then objected to the drug being exported for executions.
The state is considering using Pentobarbital, Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, wrote in an e-mail last week.
"There are no execution dates set at this time, but we will be prepared to carry out a humane and competent execution when Governor Scott signs a death warrant," Plessinger wrote.
Pentobarbital is more typically used for euthanizing animals, according to news accounts. Oklahoma uses the drug for its executions and Ohio recently announced it would begin using Pentobarbital to replace Pentothal.
Death row inmates in Florida have had a choice since 2000 on the execution method: lethal injection or the electric chair.
"No inmates have chosen the electric chair since lethal injection began," Plessinger wrote.
More: Department of Corrections
No hay justificación para la pena de muerte
El máximo tribunal aplazó la ejecución de Manuel Valle hasta el 1 de septiembre.
Por Arzobispo Thomas Wenski, Arzobispo de Miami
El gobernador Scott ha firmado su primera sentencia de muerte. Aunque prevista inicialmente para el 2 de agosto, un aplazamiento concedido por la Corte Suprema de la Florida para revisar el protocolo de inyección letal aplazará la ejecución de Manuel Valle hasta el 1ro. de septiembre. Gracias a la intervención de la Corte Suprema, el gobernador Scott tiene la oportunidad de reconsiderar su decisión —y yo, y conmigo los otros obispos de la Florida, le instamos a hacerlo.
Manuel Valle fue declarado culpable de derramar sangre inocente --la de un agente de la policía, Luis Peña. También intentó dispararle a otro agente, Gary Spell. Estos crímenes son atroces-- pero se cometieron hace más de 30 años. Después de 30 años, ¿es necesario que el Estado de la Florida mate a este hombre? ¿Responde la sociedad de manera coherente en contra de matar, matando?
El argumento ha sido que la aplicación de la pena de muerte representa la legítima defensa de la sociedad contra un agresor injusto, es decir, el asesino. Históricamente, la Iglesia ha concedido que el Estado puede aplicar la pena capital cuando sea absolutamente necesaria, es decir, cuando no le sea posible defenderse de otro modo. No hay, en las Enseñanzas de la Iglesia, una equivalencia moral entre la ejecución de los culpables tras el debido proceso legal, y la destrucción deliberada de la vida inocente que se practica con el aborto o la eutanasia. Sin embargo, el Papa Juan Pablo II ha señalado en la Evangelium Vitae (no. 56): teniendo en cuenta la organización del sistema penal actual y la posibilidad de imponer la cadena perpetua sin opción de libertad condicional, que tal “necesidad absoluta” es “prácticamente inexistente”.
Además, es difícil defender la “necesidad” de ejecutar a alguien, cuando a su cómplice, a cambio de información o de prestar testimonio, se le da con frecuencia, mediante la negociación de los cargos, una sentencia menor. Y, aunque algunos seres queridos de las víctimas la piden”, es difícil ver cómo la pena de muerte como algo que repararía el daño. Un castigo debe ser mas que una “retribución social” o “venganza institucional”. El propósito de imponer un castigo a uno debe estar concebido para compensar el desorden introducido por el delito. La pena de muerte no puede devolverles la vida a las víctimas.
Incluso desde una perspectiva puramente pragmática o utilitaria, la pena de muerte no ...
Por Arzobispo Thomas Wenski, Arzobispo de Miami
puede ser defendida. No es un medio eficaz de disuasión frente a la delincuencia. Texas ha ejecutado a más delincuentes que cualquier otro estado; sin embargo, todavía tiene una de las tasas de homicidios más altas del país. Y la pena de muerte no es rentable. Al estado le cuesta menos encarcelar a alguien por el resto de su vida natural, que ejecutarlo. Dado el hecho de que es irreversible, la sociedad ha establecido, con razón, que la pena de muerte sólo se aplique después de apelaciones judiciales prolongadas y costosas. Y, a pesar de esto, hay docenas de casos documentados de personas inocentes que han sido injustamente condenadas y ejecutadas en el pasado siglo.
El homicidio intencional es un crimen atroz, que clama a Dios por justicia. Sin embargo, Dios no exigió la vida de Caín por haber derramado la sangre de Abel. Dios, efectivamente, castigó al primer asesino de la historia, pero le impuso una marca a Caín para protegerlo de aquellos que quisieran matarlo para vengar el asesinato de Abel (cf. Gn 4:15). Como Caín, el prisionero condenado en el corredor de la muerte —con toda la maldad de sus crímenes— sigue siendo una persona. Se sirve mejor a la dignidad humana —la de los condenados, así como la nuestra— al no recurrir a este castigo extremo e innecesario. La sociedad moderna tiene los medios para protegerse sin la pena de muerte.
La conmutación a cadena perpetua serviría al bien común de todos, rompiendo la espiral de violencia d
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to lift a stay of execution ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
7/30 FLORIDA BRIEFS: Justices uphold stay of execution
TALLAHASSEE -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to lift a stay of execution ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
The federal justices Friday rejected a request by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to vacate the stay for Manuel Valle.
The 61-year-old convict had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection next Tuesday for fatally shooting a Coral Gables police officer 33 years ago.
The Florida justices, though, stayed the execution and ordered a Miami judge to hold a fact-finding hearing on a change in the state’s lethal injection procedure.
That hearing begin Thursday and will continue next week.
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/07/30/3385407/justices-uphold-states-stay-of.html#ixzz1TdET6Ex4
TALLAHASSEE -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to lift a stay of execution ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
The federal justices Friday rejected a request by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to vacate the stay for Manuel Valle.
The 61-year-old convict had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection next Tuesday for fatally shooting a Coral Gables police officer 33 years ago.
The Florida justices, though, stayed the execution and ordered a Miami judge to hold a fact-finding hearing on a change in the state’s lethal injection procedure.
That hearing begin Thursday and will continue next week.
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/07/30/3385407/justices-uphold-states-stay-of.html#ixzz1TdET6Ex4
They sent letters to state departments of corrections condemning the use of their product in executions by lethal injection
Both Hospira, Inc., the manufacturer of sodium thiopental, and Lundbeck,
Inc., the manufacturer of pentobarbital, have publicly stated that they sent letters to state departments of corrections condemning the use of their product in executions
by lethal injection. In Lundbeck?s case, the company?s concern was based on serious concerns regarding the efficacy of the drug for such use. Certainly, concerns over the efficacy of a drug, which is intended to be the most crucial aspect of the three drug sequence is an indication of a flaw in the procedures.
Inc., the manufacturer of pentobarbital, have publicly stated that they sent letters to state departments of corrections condemning the use of their product in executions
by lethal injection. In Lundbeck?s case, the company?s concern was based on serious concerns regarding the efficacy of the drug for such use. Certainly, concerns over the efficacy of a drug, which is intended to be the most crucial aspect of the three drug sequence is an indication of a flaw in the procedures.
The Office of the Attorney General was required to disclose
The Office of the Attorney General was
required to disclose correspondence regarding the constitutionality of the new
protocol and similar correspondence from the Governor?s Office to the extent it
would approve or review changes to the lethal injection procedures.
required to disclose correspondence regarding the constitutionality of the new
protocol and similar correspondence from the Governor?s Office to the extent it
would approve or review changes to the lethal injection procedures.
Has FDLE followed up the execution protocol, as required?
The FDLE was only required to turn over training logs, manuals, or protocol
having to do with their involvement in the execution process and logs or record
books regarding the maintenance, storage, use and disposal of pentobarbital. The
FDLE only disclosed training logs for 3 dates in 2010, yet certified to the lower
court that it provided all the records responsive to the court?s order. Again, this
was not the extent of the information requested from FDLE. Importantly, FDLE is
an integral part of the lethal injection process because the agents are supposed to
serve as independent observers. Further, FDLE is required to confirm that all
lethal chemicals are correct and current, including compliance with state and federal law
having to do with their involvement in the execution process and logs or record
books regarding the maintenance, storage, use and disposal of pentobarbital. The
FDLE only disclosed training logs for 3 dates in 2010, yet certified to the lower
court that it provided all the records responsive to the court?s order. Again, this
was not the extent of the information requested from FDLE. Importantly, FDLE is
an integral part of the lethal injection process because the agents are supposed to
serve as independent observers. Further, FDLE is required to confirm that all
lethal chemicals are correct and current, including compliance with state and federal law
The only explanation is that these records don?t exist.
The DOC and FDLE were required to disclose correspondence from January
1st, 2010, to the present with any federal agency within drug enforcement, FDA,
BOP or DOJ, with regard to the constitutionality and/or efficacy of the chemical
combination in the new protocol from June 8th, 2011. Neither agency provided
these records and each certified they turned over everything they had with respect
to the court?s order. Therefore, the only explanation is that these records don?t
exist.
1st, 2010, to the present with any federal agency within drug enforcement, FDA,
BOP or DOJ, with regard to the constitutionality and/or efficacy of the chemical
combination in the new protocol from June 8th, 2011. Neither agency provided
these records and each certified they turned over everything they had with respect
to the court?s order. Therefore, the only explanation is that these records don?t
exist.
Two drafts dated December 29, 2010 of the lethal injection procedures reflecting a change from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital,
Nevertheless, the extent of the records disclosed from DOC included a two
page invoice, the April 21, 2008 lethal injection procedures with a memo
requesting the then Secretary?s signature, the June 8, 2011 lethal injection
procedures, two drafts dated December 29, 2010 of the lethal injection procedures
reflecting a change from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital, a legal memorandum
on the state of lethal injection litigation across the country, and blank copies of all
execution checklists and other materials used by the execution team, during training sessions and during an execution. This was by no means the entirety of
Mr. Valle?s request.
page invoice, the April 21, 2008 lethal injection procedures with a memo
requesting the then Secretary?s signature, the June 8, 2011 lethal injection
procedures, two drafts dated December 29, 2010 of the lethal injection procedures
reflecting a change from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital, a legal memorandum
on the state of lethal injection litigation across the country, and blank copies of all
execution checklists and other materials used by the execution team, during training sessions and during an execution. This was by no means the entirety of
Mr. Valle?s request.
Records DOC denied to disclose
The Department of Corrections was required to produce 57 pages of records
which it had previously agreed to provide to a private attorney pursuant to Fla.
Stat. §119, but which the DOC repeatedly objected to providing to death sentenced
inmates represented by CCRC-South.
which it had previously agreed to provide to a private attorney pursuant to Fla.
Stat. §119, but which the DOC repeatedly objected to providing to death sentenced
inmates represented by CCRC-South.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Paul Flemming: Drug debate puts execution on hold
Paul Flemming
Harvard medical school professors, Danish pharmaceutical companies, four members of the Florida Supreme Court and attorneys for condemned cop killer Manuel Valle are poking their collective noses into the state of Florida's business, namely its — and our — business of death.
As a result, Valle won't be executed Tuesday as scheduled by the death warrant Gov. Rick Scott signed in June.
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday stayed Valle's death sentence and ordered an evidentiary hearing about the efficacy of pentobarbital to knock him unconscious so he doesn't feel the effects of the next two drugs his executioners would administer to paralyze him and stop his heart.
Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince, Jorge Labarga and James Perry voted to stay Valle's execution, writing that a report from Dr. David Waisel, a pediatric anesthesiologist and associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School included in Valle's lawyer's arguments, merited a further look at pentobarbital, a new drug in Florida's execution process.
Dissenting were Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justices Fred Lewis and Ricky Polston. "Based on speculation and conjecture, Valle claims the right to judicial micromanagement of the execution process," Canady wrote in the dissenting opinion.
An evidentiary hearing began in Miami on Thursday. The question will end up back before the state's high court.
Florida's use of pentobarbital is new. Previously, Florida used sodium thiopental as the first drug. But the maker of sodium thiopental stopped doing so. Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Buss approved new protocols for lethal injection, including pentobarbital, on June 8.
Staffan Schüberg, president of Lundbeck Inc., the manufacturer of pentobarbital with the brand name Nembutal, wrote to Scott on May 16 and June 8 and also sent a June 8 letter to Buss.
"We are adamantly opposed to the use of Nembutal to execute prisoners because it contradicts everything we are in business to do — provide therapies that improve people's lives," Schuberg wrote in his May 16 letter to Scott.
Schüberg admits there's nothing he can do to stop the state of Florida.
Of the 30 states that use lethal injection for executions, a number have already switched to pentobarbital after supplies of sodium thiopental went away. Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia have executed prisoners this year using pentobarbital as part of lethal injections.
The three drugs — to anesthetize, paralyze and kill — have been sanctioned by the U.S. Supreme Court as constitutional. The combination is used by so many states because to vary the procedure would invite further court review. The magical mix was developed essentially by chance in 1977 by Oklahoma's chief medical examiner, Jay Chapman, according to years of litigation about the procedures.
The states, including Florida, argue the procedure is designed to provide a humane and pain-free death for the condemned. Death sentences are carried out with the antiseptic regimentation of a government bureaucracy that also make for a less messy and disturbing experience for executioners and witnesses.
Lethal injection became the first option for Florida executions in 2000, following a series of grisly fires and unseemly writhing by the condemned who died in the still-optional electric chair.
State-sponsored executions are going away. This is not a subjective hope, it is an objective fact, as fewer and fewer death sentences are carried out in the United States, itself an outlier in the community of nations. Not this year, not this decade even, probably, but it's slipping toward its inevitable end. The more we take ourselves away from the reality of state-sponsored death with debates about the efficacy of anesthesia, the more self-evidently ludicrous the arguments become and unsupportable its practice.
This societal evolution is evident.
Did the power company ever object to the state's using its electricity for unintended purposes?
— Paul Flemming is the state editor for the Tallahassee Democrat and floridacapitalnews.com. Contact him at pflemming@tallahassee.com or 850-671-6550.
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