NGO report
Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Report published by the Death Penalty Information Center on secrecy and the death penalty in the United States. This report documents the laws and policies that states have adopted to make information about executions inaccessible to the public, to pharmaceutical companies, and to condemned prisoners. It describes the dubious methods states have used to obtain drugs, the inadequate qualifications of members of the execution team, and the significant restrictions on witnesses’ ability to observe how executions are carried out. It summarizes the various drug combinations that have been used, with particular focus on the problems with the drug midazolam, and provides a state-by-state record of problems in recent executions. It explains how government policies that lack transparency and accountability permit states to violate the law and disregard fundamental principles of a democratic government while carrying out the harshest punishment the law allows.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions
