Back to News & Commentary

Show Me State v. Dr. Doe

Share This Page
November 26, 2007

What’s good enough for the federal government isn’t good enough for the state of Missouri. Christopher Hill, State Strategies Coordinator for the Capital Punishment Project, points this out in today’s HuffingtonPost in the case of Dr. Doe:

He is a doctor from Missouri called Dr. Doe. He has been barred from practice in two hospitals, been the subject of numerous malpractice lawsuits and has been forbidden by a federal judge from “participat[ing] in any manner, at any level, in the State of Missouri’s lethal injection process.”

…Where has Dr. Doe ended up now that he no longer executes prisoners in Missouri? Astoundingly, the federal government has made him as part of its execution team. Although the U.S. Bureau of Prisons cites a policy of not publicly disclosing the names of staff members involved with lethal injections, we know that Dr. Doe will possibly replicate his abysmal performance in Missouri on the national level because he testified about his new job in the inmate’s lawsuit.

In other lethal injection news, the oral argument in Supreme Court case Baze v. Rees has been set for January 7, 2008. The ACLU filed its amicus brief earlier this month.

Learn More About the Issues on This Page