Opinion ID: 1230319
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Inadequate Selection and Training of Personnel

Text: Second, the district court determined that Tennessee's amended protocol was deficient because it did not contain adequate procedures for selecting and training the personnel involved in executions. Harbison, 511 F.Supp.2d at 886-91. The court noted that one of the members of Tennessee's current execution team had a history of drug and alcohol addiction and psychological disorders, which raised questions about the screening process for members of the execution team. Id. at 887-88. Further, the court found that the executioners did not have sufficient training. Two of the executioners received approximately forty hours of training on the insertion of IV catheters, but not on setting up IV lines, administering drugs through the IV lines, or monitoring the IV lines during the injections. Id. at 887. The third executioner only received four hours of training on IV insertion. Id. at 887. Warden Bell, the only person in the room with the inmate, testified his training was viewing executions in Texas, visiting an execution site in Indiana, and talking with other states about the process. Id. The executioners and Warden Bell also participate in monthly practice sessions where they inject saline solutions into volunteers. Id. Medical experts at the trial identified several problems that could occur with IV catheters and lines during their use, including slippage of the catheter, stopcocks used to set the directional flow of the IV turned in the wrong direction, and injection of the wrong drug. Id. at 888-90. When questioned, the members of the execution team could not identify these potential problems. Id. at 890. The district court held that the inability of the executioners to identify these problems demonstrated the likelihood that an accident would occur at some point which increases the inmate's risk of unnecessary pain. Id. at 891. The Supreme Court in Baze, however, reached a different conclusion when faced with a similar question. While the Baze plaintiffs argued that the executioners were inadequately trained, the Court noted that Kentucky required team members to be certified medical professionals who engage in regular practice sessions. Baze, 128 S.Ct. at 1533-34. Further, Kentucky's protocol required the team to run primary and backup IV lines for the lethal injection process and to prepare two sets of the drugs before the execution begins. Id. at 1534. The warden and deputy warden monitored the IV lines during the execution for any signs of difficulties. Id. The Court determined that these redundant measures ensured that the prisoner would still receive an adequate dose of sodium thiopental if problems should arise with one of the lines. Id. Tennessee's amended protocol contains similar requirements. Two certified paramedics insert the catheters into the inmate's arm. Harbison, 511 F.Supp.2d at 886. The execution team conducts monthly practice sessions where they inject saline solution into volunteers. Id. at 887. The warden also monitors the execution to safeguard against potential problems. Id. at 886. In addition, although medical experts testified that the State should employ an expert to advise the execution team on the mixing of the lethal injection chemicals, id. at 896, Baze rejected this requirement, noting that this task was not difficult. Baze, 128 S.Ct. at 1533.