The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wants Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to halt the execution of Scott Raymond Dozier, 46. The state’s branch of the civil liberties organization objects to using a previously untested drug cocktail on the condemned killer to deliver capital punishment at Dozier’s request, KNPR reported.
Dozier’s execution by lethal injection was originally scheduled for today but was postponed on November 9.
Judge Jennifer Togliatti, Clark County District Court pulled an untested paralytic from the lethal mix of drugs slated for the Nevada murderer’s execution injection.
The proposed lethal injection protocol included the paralytic cisatracurium, as well as the sedative diazepam and the opioid fentanyl. No state has ever used such a drug combination in carrying out a death sentence.
Judge says no-go to paralytic drug during execution, could cause suffocation
Once Judge Togliatti said no-go to the paralytic drug during execution. James Dzurenda, Nevada’s prisons chief, nixed Dozier’s execution for now.
A solicitor for state Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s office assured that the order will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Nevada, according to Time.
The drawback with administering a paralytic, according to experts, is that it might also mask problems with the injection protocol and render Dozier incapable of signaling distress and could lead him to suffocate to death. After the state’s high court rules on Nevada’s proposed injection protocol, the execution could still take place, Judge Togliatti stated.
ACLU gives governor petition, wants execution called off
The ACLU gave Governor Sandoval a petition yesterday that was reportedly signed by an excess of 600 Nevada residents, asking him to call off the execution, the Nevada Independent noted.
Dozier not only murdered 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller, he also dismembered him, shoved his torso in a suitcase, and tossed the suitcase in a trash dumpster. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He also murdered Jasen Green, 26, in Arizona and dumped his dismembered body in the desert.
With Dozier voluntarily asking to have capital punishment exacted, and having abandoned all appeals, his execution will represent an end to the 11-year break Nevada took from carrying out the death penalty against condemned killers. When executed, Dozier will be the first death row inmate put to death in the state’s new $860,000 execution chamber.
Condemned killer’s execution makes possible additional capital punishments
If Governor Sandoval does not grant a stay of execution and if the Nevada’s high court rules to allow Dozier’s execution, and if Dozier stays the course, (he assured Judge Togliatti that he very much wants his wishes to be respected), then, there is much more at stake following his capital punishment. Dozier’s execution would open the possibility for additional capital punishments to be carried out. The state will have established its death injection protocol.
Horror stories about executions’ cruelty don’t stand up to media witness account
While civil libertarians present strong opinions about why Dozier should not be executed, falling back on the ever-ready claim that capital punishment is inhumane and that execution is cruel and unusual punishment, there are additional opinions that should not be slighted.
Media witnesses have attended the executions of death row inmates.
Most recent was the lethal injection of Patrick Charles Hannon in Florida on November 9, the very date that Dozier’s date with death was delayed in Nevada. Greg Angel, a CBS news reporter, was one of the media witnesses. It was not his first time watching a killer held accountable for taking people's lives. Hannon's execution marked the third time Angel has witnessed capital punishment imposed on a condemned killer.
Despite horror stories employed by death penalty opponents, it has been Angel's observation that the condemned killers did not suffer as capital punishment was carried out. Angel likened the executions to "watching someone fall asleep," the New Zealand Herald reported.
Executions missing pain and violence, ‘somewhat peaceful’
Angel did as was expected in witnessing executions. He reported whether the lethal injection protocol administered was done humanely. Killers going to sleep permanently is entirely a lot less cruel than how they behaved toward their victims.
Among Angel’s observations, pain and violence were missing from the executions. According to the New Herald, he actually remarked, “It is silent and somewhat peaceful.” That’s a far cry from what the ACLU and others would like Nevada’s governor to believe, in seeking to sway him to grant Dozier a stay of execution.
State authorities are quite competent and capable of ensuring that justice is not elusive and haunting crime victims’ families and friends. When killers are sentenced to die, maybe society needs to stop embracing the fear-baiting of those, such as the ACLU, opposed to the death penalty.