Midazolam has received criticism for its lack of effectiveness in lethal injection.
The Supreme Court decided to take a case that may affect the drugs used in lethal injection. On Friday, the high court decided to hear a case regarding the constitutionality of the use of sedative midazolam for lethal injection in Oklahoma.
Last week an Oklahoma inmate by the name of Charles F. Warner received a lethal injection with midazolam. Previously, Warner appealed to the court, asking for a stay on his execution because of the controversy about the drug midazolam, but was denied. Warner did not wake during the process and passed.
Last year, however, Clayton D. Lockett received a lethal injection, but woke up during the procedure. Midazolam, the sedative used in a three-drug combination for the lethal injection, has been questioned for its lack of effectiveness. Lockett, who was administered the cocktail of drugs, woke up after the injection and passed away 43 minutes later. An improper IV placement on Lockett resulted inhibited the midazolam to be as effective.
Four inmates, including Warner, complained that midazolam was ineffective and appealed to the court.
The inmates claim that there is a possibility of experiencing immense pain during lethal injection, which would violate the Eighth Amendment. The high court decided to take the case of the three remaining condemned prisoners, who claim the midazolam cocktail causes cruel and unusual punishment.
Back in 2008, the Supreme Court took a similar case in which they ruled in favor of a three drug lethal injection, which used the sedative sodium thiopental, because it did not violate the Eighth Amendment. Despite the ruling, this cocktail is no longer used because every pharmaceutical company in the nation refused to sell the sedative after receiving pressure from activists.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case most likely in April. A ruling that declares the use of midazolam unconstitutional would affect the entire process of lethal injection for not just Oklahoma, but the whole nation.
