USA | DOJ abandons pentobarbital for executions, same drug chosen by Tennessee last month

AG Merrick Garland wrote there is 'significant uncertainty' around whether drug inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering

The federal government will no longer use pentobarbital in executions due to concerns of "unnecessary pain and suffering," a decision made less than one month after Tennessee announced it would be using the drug in upcoming lethal injections.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a memo sent Wednesday ordered the director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to rescind the part of the federal execution protocol establishing that lethal injections are to be performed with just the drug pentobarbital.

"Having assessed the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital, the review concluded that there is significant uncertainty about whether the use of pentobarbital as a single-drug lethal injection for execution treats individuals humanely and avoids unnecessary pain and suffering," Garland wrote.

Tennessee announced it had changed its execution protocol to using pentobarbital for lethal injections just last month. The state had conducted a multiyear review of its execution process following alarming reports of mishandling of execution drugs.

Kelley Henry, supervisory assistant federal public defender who has spent decades representing those on death row in Tennessee, called the DOJ's decision "damning."

"DOJ’s review is a damning condemnation of the use of pentobarbital to poison prisoners to death," Henry said. "In light of this compelling new evidence, the state of Tennessee should rescind its execution protocol immediately."

The pause on federal executions remains in place while the U.S. Department of Justice evaluates other manners of execution.

Garland instituted a moratorium on executions of those in the federal prison system in 2021 and called for a review of the Bureau of Prisons' lethal injection procedures to ensure "everyone in the federal criminal justice system is ... treated fairly and humanely."

The review from the DOJ was also released this month and recommends "the Department should err on the side of humane treatment and avoidance of unnecessary pain and suffering and cease the use of pentobarbital unless and until that uncertainty is resolved."

The review has three main concerns with using pentobarbital in executions: the rapid buildup of fluid in the lungs, pain associated with injecting a highly alkaline solution in the bloodstream and lack of clarity over whether the drug causes people to become unconscious, and therefore incapable of feeling pain, or just unresponsive.

The news was first reported by Chris Geidner of the law blog "Law Dork."

Source: tennessean.com, Evan Mealins, January 16, 2025

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