Deborah Denno comments to The Ledger (Lakeland) on Florida’s switch to an untried drug for lethal injections, a potential violation of the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University who has studied lethal injection procedures across the country, said Florida’s continued use of a three-drug protocol is contrary to the trend in other states, which is to use one drug. She said the use of the new drug as an anesthetic poses a significant risk. Florida is one of 14 states that uses a three-drug cocktail, and one of 32 states with the death penalty.
“Florida is going against every trend we’ve seen in the last five years. In an effort to make this method of execution more humane, Florida seems to be regressing,” Denno said.
Read the entire Ledger story.
