Experiments in Execution: The Death Penalty Project
There are more than 2000 inmates on death row in 2017 in the United States, but no one knows how they will die.
All states with the death penalty use lethal injection as their primary method of executing inmates, but just what will be injected varies from state to state and execution to execution. States are scrambling to come up with new combinations of lethal drugs because suppliers are refusing to sell them drugs for lethal injections, or they’re looking to other methods of execution: Utah brought back the firing squad.
Each execution with a new lethal injection cocktail is an experiment, and many of these experiments have already gone wrong. Some states won’t say where the drugs they’re using for lethal injections are coming from, and some have admitted that they’re from compounding pharmacies, which do not have to go through the same regulation process as other drug manufacturers.
(Includes executions in the United States from 1890 to 2010. A “botched” execution is one that went wrong in any way. Data from the Death Penalty Information Center.)
This project aims to uncover how each state decides to execute its inmates, where the drugs used in lethal injections are coming from and what the last minutes of an inmate’s life are like.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
4 Articles

Florida inmates are latest in fight against mandatory solitary for death row residents
Recent reports of solitary’s harmful effects have helped bolster cases in multiple states where the capitally-condemned await their fates.

Five myths about the death penalty
From its role as a deterrent to lavish last meals that only exist in the public imagination, popular misconceptions remain about the way people are put to death in America.

Utah Department of Corrections releases Technical Manual for their execution process
When Emily Hopkins requested death penalty procedures from the Utah Department of Corrections in 2015, they were met with a rejection, and after that a denied appeal. However, whether it was the result of a new public records officer or a change in UDC policy, a request filed this year led to the release of the Technical Manual used in carrying out executions, including procedures for the firing squad.

Amid growing scrutiny, Utah refuses to release firing squad procedures
There is a lot of common lore surrounding logistics of firing squads - one gun contains a blanks, executioners aim for the heart, not the head, there may be a blindfold and a cigarette. But what’s actually on the books is a bit of a mystery, and in Utah, where a shortage of lethal drugs has brought the firing squad out of retirement, no light is going to be shed on the issue anytime soon.
71 Requests
Rejected
Death Penalty Procedures (Alabama Department of Corrections)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Alabama Department of Corrections of Alabama
Awaiting Response
Death Penalty Procedures (Bureau of Prisons)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Bureau of Prisons of the United States of America
Completed
Death Penalty Procedures (Florida Department of Corrections)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Florida
Rejected
Death Penalty Procedures (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction of Ohio
Completed
Death Penalty Procedures (Utah Department of Corrections)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Utah
Completed
Death Row Last Meal (Indiana Department of Corrections)
Curtis Waltman sent this request to the Department of Correction of Indiana
Withdrawn
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Alabama Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Alabama Department of Corrections of Alabama
Withdrawn
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Alabama Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Alabama Department of Corrections of Alabama
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Bureau of Prisons)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Bureau of Prisons of the United States of America
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Correction)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Correction of Arkansas
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Correction)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Correction of Delaware
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Correction)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Correction of Idaho
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Correction)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Correction of Indiana
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Correction)
Beryl Lipton sent this request to the Department of Correction of Arkansas
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Florida
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Kentucky
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Kansas
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of South Dakota
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of South Carolina
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Wyoming
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Louisiana
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Mississippi
Partially Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Missouri
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Montana
No Responsive Documents
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of New Hampshire
Withdrawn
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Beryl Lipton sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Tennessee
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Georgia
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Arizona
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of North Carolina
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Tennessee
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Pennsylvania
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Virginia
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Nevada
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Washington
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Oregon
Rejected
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Colorado
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of California
Completed
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction of Ohio
Completed
Department of Corrections Death Penalty Procedures (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Emily Hopkins sent this request to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of Texas
Withdrawn
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Alabama Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Alabama Department of Corrections of Alabama
Completed
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Correction)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Correction of Idaho
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Correction)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Correction of Arkansas
Fix Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Correction)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Correction of Indiana
No Responsive Documents
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Correction)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Correction of Delaware
Withdrawn
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Correctional Services)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Correctional Services of Nebraska
Rejected
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of South Dakota
Completed
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of North Carolina
No Responsive Documents
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Utah
Rejected
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Mississippi
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Louisiana
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Oregon
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Washington
Completed
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Nevada
No Responsive Documents
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Virginia
Rejected
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Pennsylvania
No Responsive Documents
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Colorado
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Wyoming
Withdrawn
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Tennessee
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Missouri
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Kentucky
Withdrawn
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Kansas
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Georgia
Awaiting Response
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Florida
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Arizona
Fix Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of New Hampshire
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Oklahoma
Payment Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of South Carolina
Fix Required
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Department of Corrections)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections of Montana
No Responsive Documents
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of California
Fix Required
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction of Ohio
Rejected
Lethal Injection protocol meeting notes and communications (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Adanya Lustig sent this request to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of Texas