Missouri Executions Hit a Roadblock
A few weeks ago I wrote about federal Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. in Missouri who ordered the cessation of executions in that state due to the "unconstitutional pain and suffering" the inmate may experience from the drug cocktail used, and because the lone doctor mixing the drugs was dyslexic. He gave the Department of Corrections 15 days to find another protocol.
The 15 days is up today. Last night, the Department of Corrections told Judge Gaitan it had failed to find a board-certified anesthesiologist.
In the state's filing last night, officials said they had sent letters to 298 certified anesthesiologists who reside anywhere near the state's death chamber in Bonne Terre, and were turned down by all of them.
"A requirement of using a board-certified anesthesiologist is a requirement that cannot presently be met," Attorney General Jeremiah W. Nixon wrote. "To enforce it may effectively bar implementation of the death penalty in Missouri. Surely that is not what the court intended."
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