More Perfect Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Host: Jad Abumrad
• More Perfect: A mini-series exploring ideas and cases in the Supreme Court.
• Focus of this episode: The death penalty and its intersection with pharmaceuticals and legality.

The Story of Maya Foa

• Maya Foa: Director of the death penalty team at Reprieve.
• Reprieve: Legal organization against the death penalty.
• 2010: Arizona execution of Jeffrey Landrigan with non-FDA-approved drugs sourced from a UK pharmacy.
  • Maya begins investigating the source of these drugs.
  • Discovery: No UK companies were FDA-approved to ship sodium thiopental to the US.

The Global Hunt for Lethal Injection Drugs

• A shortage of sodium thiopental led states to seek alternatives globally.
• Maya's investigation reveals a company, Dream Pharma, operated by a single individual in the UK, was a key supplier.
  • Further tracing showed supply chains involving Austria, Germany, and UK.
  • Discovery led to UK's enforcement of anti-capital punishment export regulations.
  • Result: Supply of these drugs for executions in the US is cut off.

Legal and Ethical Implications

• US states attempted to source drugs from Germany, Italy, Denmark, and India.
• A consistent global pushback from pharmaceutical companies who did not want their products used for executions.
• The role of the 8th Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) in the debate.
  • The first drug in the lethal injection cocktail is crucial legally because it prevents severe pain.

Challenges and Changes

• US states run out of lethal injection drugs, turning to untested and DIY methods.
• High-profile botched executions (Clayton Lockett) raise public and legal scrutiny.
• Supreme Court case discussion highlights tension between judicial perspectives on execution drugs.

The Historical Context of Lethal Injection

• Bill Wiseman: Developed lethal injection method to make executions more humane.
  • Influenced by guilt from voting to reinstate the death penalty.

Modern Challenges and Considerations

• Some states consider alternative execution methods, such as firing squads (e.g., Utah).
  • Argument: Firing squad is more honest and potentially less painful.

Public and Judicial Debate

• Discussion on whether lethal injection should continue amidst difficulties in obtaining drugs.
• Justice Breyer calls for reconsideration of the death penalty's constitutionality.
• Recent developments: Pfizer's decision to stop supplying drugs for executions potentially ends lethal injection as a practical method.

Conclusion

• More Perfect: A series exploring Supreme Court issues, produced by Radiolab team.