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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Inmate's family sues Ohio lethal injection expert witness

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Dennis McGuire
Dennis McGuire
The state’s former expert witness on lethal injection should have known that a condemned inmate would suffer because of a never-used two-drug combo, the family of the inmate says in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit, expanded from an earlier filing, alleges that Dr Mark Dershwitz knew inmate Dennis McGuire would suffer during the January execution but helped create the state’s new lethal injection policy anyway. The new complaint filed in federal court earlier this month says Dershwitz also provided medical and scientific advice to the state prisons agency.

Even though he knew the risks of the two-drug method, “Dershwitz continued to bill for services and earn compensation from the State of Ohio to provide advice, expertise, assistance, counsel, and expert witness services to assist in the creation of Ohio’s Execution Protocol,” the lawsuit said.

Dershwitz, a University of Massachusetts anesthesiologist and pharmacologist, announced in June he would no longer act as an expert witness for states defending their lethal injection methods.

Dershwitz said Ohio had jeopardized his standing with the American Board of Anesthesiology in a news release it issued about the 16 January execution of McGuire because it implied he consulted on the execution method, which is prohibited by the national board.

The family also added drug distributor McKesson Corp to the lawsuit, saying the company distributed the midazolam and hydromorphone used to put McGuire to death. The family previously sued Hospira Inc, which makes the drugs.


Source: The Guardian, December 16, 2014
Location: Ohio, USA
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