Missouri finds a drug option for executions: propo

[thinkinkmesa]

Missouri finds a drug option for executions: propofol

The state of Missouri is back in the execution business with a drug that's never been used to put prisoners to death in the United States.

Stymied by a chemical shortage affecting every death-penalty state, the Missouri Department of Corrections said this week that it now will carry out death sentences with propofol, a widely used surgical anesthetic that also played a factor in singer Michael Jackson's death.

Read more here: www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/05/18/2527641/missouri-finds-a-drug-option-for.html#storylink=cpy

[thinkinkmesa]

Missouri to use same drug involved in Michael Jackson's death for executions

Excerpt

Jonathan Groner, an Ohio State University surgeon who has studied lethal injection extensively, said propofol is typically administered by either an anesthesiologist, who is a physician, or a nurse anesthetist under the physician's direct supervision. Improper administration could cause a burning sensation or pain at the injection site, he said.
Groner said high doses of propofol will kill by causing respiratory arrest. But the dosage must be accurate and the process must move swiftly because propofol typically wears off in just a few minutes.
"If they start breathing before the heart stops, they might not die," Groner said. That would force the process to be restarted.


Read more: www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/24/missouri-to-use-same-drug-involved-in-michael-jackson-death-for-executions/#ixzz1vnuNbzZi