Investigations

Physician Participation in the Death Penalty

Society entrusts physicians to work for the benefit of their patients and the public. When doctors use their medical skills to facilitate state executions, they shatter this trust and violate their commitment to relieve suffering.

Physicians in the United States, in direct conflict with ethical standards, routinely participate in executions. More than two dozen states use lethal injection that requires special medical skills and devices. State statutes or regulations require that a physician "shall" or "must" be present at an execution and, according to some interpretations, must be directly involved. Many states with death penalty statutes require a physician to "pronounce" or "determine" death.

Even this act of pronouncing death–as opposed to certifying it at a later time – raises serious concerns about physician complicity. In Alabama, after officials electrocuted a condemned man in a 1989 execution, they called in two physicians to examine the inmate. Based on their assessment that he was still alive, authorities administered a second and fatal current.

PHR, along with the American College of Physicians, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and Human Rights Watch, released the comprehensive report Breach of Trust - Physician Participation in Executions in the United States, documenting widespread physician involvement. The report includes case studies obtained through interviews with witnesses and physicians; a review of medical organizations' and state medical societies' responses; a state-by-state summary of laws, regulations, and policies on execution; an analysis of the ethical foundations prohibiting participation; and recommendations against participation.

PHR supports health professionals who refuse to collaborate in executions, and lauded the decision in 2006 by two California anesthesiologists not to participate in a scheduled execution.

PHR opposes laws that mandate physician participation in execution, that protect the anonymity of those who violate ethical standards, and recommends that state medical boards take action against violators. PHR opposes capital punishment in all cases.

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Dual Loyalty