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U.S. doctors and health experts are asking states via an open letter to release certain medicines used for lethal injections to help treat COVID-19 patients.

LETHAL INJECTIONS

Certain states still practice lethal injections for prisoners who are sentenced to death. There are many states also that are not practicing it anymore through a governor moratorium. 

However, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, there is currently a shortage of drugs used in lethal injections. These drugs are fentanyl, midazolam, vecuronium bromide, and rocuronium bromide.

In an open letter from a group of doctors and health experts, it was explained that "both midazolam and fentanyl are used to sedate COVID-19 patients relying on a mechanical ventilator, while the other drugs are used in ICUs for both ventilation and intubation."  

AN OPEN LETTER FROM DOCTORS AND HEALTH EXPERTS

Traditionally, the drugs mentioned above are used primarily as part of lethal injections. But these drugs can also be used to alleviate respiratory problems and enable the use of ventilators.

The current shortage is the reason doctors and health experts wrote the open letter to death penalty states. The letter stipulated that: "Your stockpile could save the lives of hundreds of people; though this may be a small fraction of the total anticipated deaths, it is a central ethical directive that medicine values every life. Those who might be saved could include a colleague, a loved one, or even you."

The following doctors signed the open letter:

  • Joel Zivot, Joshua Sharfstein, Prashant Yadav, Kenneth Goodman, Donald Downing, Robert Greifinger, and Leonidas George Koniaris, from medical departments across the country, including Johns Hopkins and Harvard. 

However, they clarified that the request comes not out from the institutions where they belong but as individuals.

Moreover, the letter was addressed to the state correctional facility directors and requesting them to send any available drugs mentioned above to be sent to hospitals where they are most needed. 

It was also written in the letter that "at this crucial moment for our country, we must prioritize the needs and lives of patients above ending the lives of prisoners."

NUMBER OF PRISONERS WAITING FOR EXECUTION 

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are more than 2,600 prisoners who are waiting for their execution across the country. Thirty states are still practicing lethal injection, and the federal government is using this as a primary method, while for some, it is a back-up.

It was also found that a Texas court issued a stay of execution due to the pandemic. This means that they have not been using lethal injection drugs since then.   

It is undeniable that there are shortages of beds and drugs in different hospitals in the country. Though it is not clear as to how many will be treated by the drugs used in lethal injections, if various states consider this, many lives could be saved. 

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