Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death.

Feb 19, 2025 · Lethal injection—now the most widely used method of execution in the United States—was first adopted by the U.S. state of Oklahoma in 1977, because it was considered cheaper and more humane than either electrocution or lethal gas (see gas chamber).

Nov 28, 2023 · Here’s what happens in one state during a typical three-drug lethal injection, the most common method of enacting the death penalty where it is legal in the US.

Today, every state that has the death penal­ty autho­rizes exe­cu­tion by lethal injec­tion. When this method is used, the con­demned per­son is usu­al­ly bound to a gur­ney and a mem­ber of the exe­cu­tion team posi­tions sev­er­al heart mon­i­tors on this skin.

Sep 21, 2020 · For decades, states have claimed that lethal injection is quick, peaceful and painless. An NPR investigation — and legal battles across the country — tell a different story.

ONE DRUG: Nine states and the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment have used a sin­gle-drug method for exe­cu­tions – a lethal dose of an anes­thet­ic (Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington).

Though lethal injection has been used for a majority of the executions carried out in the modern era, it is plagued by problematic executions and controversy. All states and the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment use lethal injec­tion as their pri­ma­ry method of exe­cu­tion.

Mar 12, 2018 · Lethal injection has been proposed since the 19th century, with interest resurging in Nazi Germany, but the seed was planted for the institution we know today by Jay Chapman, the chief medical examiner of Oklahoma. He was charged with coming up with a humane way to put criminals to death by a state representative in 1977.

1 day ago · Since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976, states have used five different execution methods: lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad and hanging.

1 day ago · The gurney used for lethal injections sits in a small cinder block building at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Atlanta, Sept. 7, 2007.