Lethal injections may cause pain

A study published in 2005 found that lethal drugs being used in executing death sentences do not guarantee that the condemned will die without suffering. The method includes three injections; first to induce sleep; second to stop breathing and a third to stop the heart.

However, based on detailed information on 41 executions, the experts realized that those being put to death did not always react as expected to different substances used and that they are often not properly anaesthetised. This is why a dozen states suspended their executions.

Different cases showed that the condemned had continued to breathe after receiving the drug meant to stop their breathing or to paralyze them and that hearts of others continued beating as long as nine minutes after receiving the last substance, potassium chloride, meant to kill them immediately. Also, anaesthesia may not always work reliably and subjects may still be conscious when hit with the second drug.