Myth:
Death by lethal injection is completely humane and painless.

Fact:
There is some doubt about the use of the triple cocktail. In 30 of the states that carry out executions by lethal injection, a combination of three chemicals is used. First, the prisoner is injected with sodium thiopental, an “ultra-short-acting” barbiturate designed to cause unconsciousness. That’s followed by an injection of pancuronium bromide (its trade name is Pavulon), a drug which causes paralysis. Finally, an injection of potassium chloride causes heart failure.

It’s the second of this lethal trio, Pavulon, that has raised red flags. Pavulon paralyzes the muscles but it does not affect the brain or nerves. Thus, once Pavulon has been administered there is no way for the prisoner to speak or move, even if conscious. Rather than contributing to a “painless death," Pavulon may do nothing more than mask intense suffering during the execution.

Some critics have suggested that making an execution palatable to the witnesses may be the sole reason for using Pavulon. According to Dr Sherwin B. Nulane, who teaches medicine at Yale, “It strikes me that it makes no sense to use a muscle relaxant in executing people. Complete muscle paralysis does not mean loss of pain sensation.”

Dr. Mark J.S.Heath, an anesthesiologist who teaches at Columbia University, points out that if the injection of sodium thiopental is inadequate or wears off the prisoner would be left conscious, paralyzed, suffocating and subject to extreme pain from the potassium chloride. In those circumstances, the final injection “would basically deliver the maximum amount of pain the veins can deliver, which is a lot.”

While the courts have been hesitant in finding lethal injections an inhumane thing to inflict on humans, it seems that legislatures have had no such hesitancy in declaring Pavulon unfit for use in killing animals. Based on the Veterinary Medical Association’s finding that “without perfect anesthesia” Pavulon’s use can lead to suffering for animals, in 2001 Tennessee banned the use of Pavulon in euthanizing “non-livestock animals” such as pets, domesticated animals, chicks and pot-bellied pigs. Texas followed suit in September 2003 with a ban on its use on cats and dogs. Both states use lethal injections to execute humans.

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Myths and Facts

Myth: No innocent people are put to death.

Myth: The death penalty is applied fairly.

Myth: Capital punishment is a powerful deterrent to murder and other violent crimes.

Myth: It costs more to imprison murderers for life than to execute them.

Myth: Most countries have the death penalty.

Myth: Most religions support the death penalty.

Myth: Support for the death penalty is growing in the United States.

Myth: Death by lethal injection is completely humane and painless.