Deborah Denno was quoted in the Los Angeles Times regarding the possibility of botched lethal injections as California plans to resume executions next year under proposed new rules.
Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham University School of Law and an expert on lethal injections, was among those who said recent revisions to the state’s proposed regulations still don’t cure underlying problems that can lead to botched executions.
For instance, the proposed rules now give executioners 10 minutes to administer each round of lethal drugs. The first batch is supposed to kill, but if that initial dose doesn’t work, executioners would administer four more similar doses, each with a 10-minute countdown clock to make sure the process doesn’t drag on for hours as critics said was a possibility under the original rules.
If the inmate is still alive after five massive doses, “the San Quentin Warden shall stop the execution and summon medical assistance for the inmate,” the proposed rules say.
The AP story was picked up in the following outlets: