Death Row prisoners face deadly injection in intimate space in brutal rule change
Idaho will executing Death Row prisoners by injecting them in the groin, neck, chest or arm if standard IV lines cannot be inserted successfully.
The Idaho Department of Correction announced the grim new rules on Tuesday (October 15). The use of a central venous line has always been part of the state’s official execution policy as a backup plan, but it has never been implemented.
This is because prison officials stated that the design of the execution chamber did not maintain the inmate’s dignity during the process of inserting the line.
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(Image: AP)
In February, the attempted execution of Thomas Eugene Creech was unsuccessful after the execution team failed to establish a peripheral intravenous line. They tried eight times in various veins in his arms and legs.
Creech’s defence lawyers have been trying to stop a second attempt, arguing it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment and double jeopardy. However, a state judge dismissed these arguments in September.
Following the failed execution attempt, the state began renovations on its execution chamber to include a room where a doctor can insert a central venous line, reports the Express US.
Several states, including Texas and Oklahoma, prohibit execution witnesses from observing the insertion of IVs or central venous catheters, as these procedures are performed in areas hidden from sight.
However, in Idaho, the establishment of an IV line or central venous catheter must be publicly witnessed due to a ruling by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which deemed it a crucial part of an execution.
(Image: Getty Images)
This ruling came after The Associated Press and other state news organisations sued for greater witness access.
Under Idaho’s revised execution policy, media witnesses and others chosen to observe the execution will be able to view the line insertion via a closed-circuit camera system located in a separate room.
Once the central line is in place, the condemned individual will be moved to the main section of the execution chamber where witnesses can watch the remainder of the process through a window.
Standard peripheral IV lines are relatively simple to establish, typically requiring just a needle prick into a vein near the skin’s surface on the arm or hand. Emergency medical technicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals routinely insert standard IVs.
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