Is the Lethal Injection painful?

[Hack&Lube]

Critics argue that since the American Medical Association technically bans Doctors from doing anything contrary to saving lives, the procedures are usually carried out by orderlies or inexperienced tecnicians. There are many documented cases of technicians spending up to an hour prodding and poking trying to find veins and the victims screaming or moaning. Some drug addicts even had to help the technicans in finding their own veins.

They also say that often the Sodium Penothal used is indequate and being an ultra-quick drug, may wear off leaving the victim paralyzed but conscious and unable to express the pain and suffering of having his lungs collapse and heart stopped.

For this reason, Vetrinarians are banned from using such paralyzing drugs when putting animals to sleep because you don't know if it's actually putting them out and numbing the pain or just giving the outward appearance of such while the dying victim is experiencing an excruciating death they cannot express to the outside world.

So the moral is that even animals have higher standards and more humane executions than humans.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

They also say that often the Sodium Penothal used is indequate and being an ultra-quick drug, may wear off leaving the victim paralyzed but conscious and unable to express the pain and suffering of having his lungs collapse and heart stopped.

From a medical standpoint, these arguments are not justifiable. If you are giving enough pancuronium to induce paralysis, the body is neither protecting its airway nor is it physically able to breathe (within minutes). The point being that you would die of asphyxiation long before the Pentothal wears off (half life of ~4 hours).

And what is the point of veternarians trying to create martyrs out of animals by preserving what they presume to be an indicator of pain? Is seeing a dog twitching on the table going to prompt you to push narcotics?
If thats all this is about, then give the prisoner a huge bolus of opioids before you send him off.
________
Medical marijuana card

[11mile]

Originally Posted by ken0042

And googled it was:
Lifespan of a beheaded head

Not exactly the journal of modern medicine, so take it for what it's wort

"

An account from a Dr Beaurieux, of an execution by guillotine states that 5-6 seconds after the event the lips and eyelids worked with "irregular rhythmic contractions". After this, the eyes opened and rolled back. Calling the victim's name caused the eyes to move back into position and focus on the doctor and then go back to how it was. Calling a second time had a similar effect, a third call had no effect. The whole account describes 25-30 seconds of events.
There are accounts of victims of the French Revolution being asked to blink their eyes when they were beheaded. They are supposed to have done this for up to 30 seconds after but it is not sure whether this is mortal spasms or not. "

Oh wow, those are some pretty wild findings... I do vaguely recall hearing about this study in an ethics class.

What we need to do to complete the study is attach some EEG leads, an ICP tip... just kidding.