Lawsuit Spurs Washington’s Lethal Injection Team to Quit
The state of Washington is without a team to administer lethal injections after all four of its members resigned in response to a lawsuit.
The four volunteers, all who currently or previously worked for the Department of Corrections, apparently fear their names will become public as a result of a lawsuit challenging lethal injections in the state, the Seattle Times reports.
The suit asks a judge to privately review the qualifications and experience of those who would administer lethal injections, the story says. The suit claims lethal injections can cause severe pain if they are not done correctly.
Scott Englehard, a lawyer representing one of the inmates challenging the procedure, said the team members’ identities would not have been disclosed during the in camera review. But Dan Sytman, a spokesman for State Attorney General Rob McKenna, said volunteers were worried their records would eventually be disclosed.
“They don’t want picketers showing up on their front lawns, and they don’t want offenders knowing who they are,” Sytman told the Seattle Times.
Hat tip to Criminal Justice Journalists.
