Judge spells out Morales execution procedure

By Jason Bennert, Bay City News Service

February 21, 2006, 3:45 p.m.

A federal judge has ruled that tonight's execution of Michael Morales can proceed provided that a licensed medical professional injects at least five grams of sodium thiopental directly into Morales's bloodstream.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel laid out a very specific procedure that prison officials will have to follow if they wish to execute Morales before the death warrant expires at midnight tonight.

"Accordingly, while defendants may proceed with the execution this evening using only sodium thiopental, they may do so only if the sodium thiopental is injected in the execution chamber directly into the intravenous cannula by a person or persons licensed by the State of California to inject medications intravenously. The dosage used shall be at least five grams of sodium thiopental to be followed by a 20 cc saline flush as provided in Protocol No. 770,'' Fogel wrote in a ruling issued this afternoon.

A spokesman for the California Attorney General's Office issued a statement saying lawyers from the office and prison officials are currently discussing the judge's ruling to determine whether to proceed with the execution using Fogel's procedure or whether to consider other options.

Attorneys for Morales have argued that California's current lethal injection procedure is flawed because there is a possibility that the condemned prisoner may experience excruciating pain as the lethal drugs are being administered. Earlier this month Fogel gave prison officials two options for carrying out the execution of Morales: either having a qualified medical professional in the execution chamber to ensure that Morales was unconscious before the potentially painful drugs were administered or executing him solely with a barbituate such as sodium thiopental.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####