Abstract

When lethal injection was first legalized in the late 1970s, many people viewed it as safe, reliable, and humane. Today, however, lethal injection does not always perform as promised. Due to difficulties with sourcing lethal injection drugs, states are utilizing untested lethal injection protocols, with little knowledge or experience to guide them. This article argues that lethal injection reform requires regulation similar to that for human subject research, and that the practice of utilizing untested lethal injection methods comes very close to falling under the federal statutory definition of “human subject research“ formulated in the Common Rule. This article argues further that even if one decides that it does not, the practice of lethal injection today is the type of conduct that the human subject research regulations were designed to correct. Moreover, society has an interest in ensuring that executions are conducted in a way that reduces pain and suffering to the lowest extent possible. As such, lethal injection ought to receive further review and oversight to ensure that it comports with reasonable notions of humanity.