The Shady Business of Lethal Injection: The Quality of Mercy  ## Metadata - Author: [[It Could Happen Here]] - Full Title: The Shady Business of Lethal Injection: The Quality of Mercy - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/368a2736-e37a-4640-87e2-0207ad40c47a ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Surviving A Post‑9/11 Hate Crime** - Rais Bhuiyan described being shot point-blank during a post-9/11 hate crime and begging for his life before losing vision in one eye. - He survived multiple surgeries, mounting medical debt, and long trauma while rebuilding his life. Transcript: Rais Bhuiyan 21st, 2001, it was Friday around noon. A customer walked in wearing bandana, sunglasses, baseball cap, and holding a double barrel, a solid double barrel shotgun on his right side. And from the previous robbery experience, I thought it would be in the robbery. So I put all the money on the counter and offered him the cash as soon as he walked in. And I said, sir, here is all the money. Take it. But please do not shoot me. Basically, I begged for my life. And his gaze remained fixed. And then he mumbled the question, what are you from? Before I could say anything more than excuse me, he pulled the trigger from point blank. I felt it first, like a million bees were stinging my face. And I looked down and saw blood pouring like an open faucet from the right side of my head. And I remember screaming, mom, top of my voice. And I looked down, saw blood pouring like an open faucet from the right side of my head. And then I looked left. I saw the gunman still standing, pointing the gun directly at my face. And I realized that if I do not, you know, do something to show that I'm dying, he might shoot me again. So I fell to the floor and he finally left a few seconds. Puyang survived the attack, but he was blinded in his right eye. ([Time 0:05:16](https://share.snipd.com/snip/cca47e29-eed6-43ac-a32d-f22729a5f742)) - **Forgiveness Turned Into Advocacy** - Rais Bhuiyan traveled to Mecca, forgave Mark Stroman, and then campaigned to stop his execution. - Despite failing to halt the execution, Bhuiyan's advocacy pressured European drug makers to block lethal‑injection supplies to US states. Transcript: Rais Bhuiyan I moved on rebuilding my life. I worked in a restaurant. I went back to school. And slowly I was climbing the ladder and getting better in my own life journey. And in 2009, I went to NECA for pilgrimage, my mother. And it was in NECA, I deeply realized that though I forgave my attacker, Mark Stroman, it was not enough. I felt that, you know, by executing Mark, we would simply lose a human life without dealing with the root cause. I strongly believe that if he was given a chance, he might be able to become a better human being. And I began to see him as a human being like me, not just simply a killer. I saw him as a victim too. And I deeply felt for him. And I remembered my promise on my deathbed that if I get a chance to live I would help others and I felt that I need to start with him first to get my promise. So I returned from Mecca with a very changed heart with a clarity and a newfound purpose and I We'll pick up the story of Beyond's campaign to spare Stroman's life and how his efforts changed Stephen Monticelli The history of the American death penalty after a word from our sponsors. Speaker 5 Time for a sofa upgrade? Introducing Anabay Sofas, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices. Every Anabay sofa is modular, allowing you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anabay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink and feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus, our pet-friendly, stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today. Sofas start at just $699 with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get early access to Black Friday now. We'll see you next time. The biggest sale of the year can save you up to 60% off, plus free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Rais Bhuiyan Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. When Dr. Sabah and I decided to do a skincare line together, he said to me, we are going to give women meaningful beauty. Speaker 5 And I said, that's exactly right. We want to give women meaningful beauty, which means each and every product is meaningful. It has a reason to exist. It's efficacious. You're going to get results. And then you just go out and live your life. Meaningful beauty. Confidence is beautiful. Learn more at meaningfulbeauty.com. Michael Phillips Looking for your next obsession? Listen to High Key. A bold, joyful, unfiltered culture podcast coming at you every Friday. Rais Bhuiyan Now, my question is, in this game of Mafia that we're going to play, are you going to do better than me? Say it now. Duh. Period. I'm going to eat. You're going to do better than me? I'm going to eat. Stephen Monticelli Yes. I literally will. Ryan will. I cannot wait till we both team up and get you out and then one of us gets the other out because we didn't realize they were a traitor the whole time. And you were actually an innocent. Michael Phillips Y'all won't even know that I'm a trainer. This is going to be delicious. Well, thank you for coming to our show. Stephen Monticelli And on that note, thank you for coming to my show. Listen to High Key on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is CJ from Point Game with Isaiah Thomas and CJ Toledano. This week, IT had a great take on why Wemby should win more than the MVP. Rev. Jeff Hood Take a listen. So look, this is how I break it down. I said for he can get MVP, defensive player of the year, and most improved in one year. How he's came out the gate. So an average fan or somebody might be like, okay, well, he was the number one pick. He's an all-star. How is he going to be most improved? Leave that for somebody that maybe changed roles or got more minutes. Because it's like, if you break it down like this, say if I averaged 20 points a game, 20 and 5 in one year, then the next year I come back and average 30 and 10. Why am I not in consideration for most improved? I'm saying that the significant jump in improvement should have somebody in consideration. Stephen Monticelli Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code POINTGAME. That's code POINTGAME. Bet five bucks and get three months of league pass plus get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins. In partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 In New York, call 877-8HOPE or text HOPE-N 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas, pass-through per-wager tax may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. NBA League Pass auto renews until canceled. Additional terms at dkng.co slash audio. Limited time offer. Dr. Rick Halperin began teaching human rights courses at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1990, where he now heads one of only nine human rights programs at universities in The country. He has also chaired Amnesty International's board of directors three times and since 1972 has been an anti-death penalty activist. Halperin became famous on Texas Death Row as a result of his efforts. And after Stroman was informed of his July 20th, 2011 execution date, the condemned man wrote a letter to Halperin asking for help in making final arrangements, such as locating an Michael Phillips Affordable undertaker. By coincidence, shortly after Stroman reached out to Halperin, the professor received a surprise visitor to his office. The stranger was Stroman's victim, Reis Bouillon. Bouillon, who had recently become an American citizen, hoped Halperin could help him find a creative and effective way to fulfill the promise he had made to God when he thought he was Dying. He began his campaign to save Stroman's life. Bouillon, Halperin, and another human rights activist, Hadi Jawad, carried their efforts from Dallas to the state capital, Nostin, and as far as the European Parliament. Stephen Monticelli A weak point in the American death penalty machinery was its reliance on companies that provided the lethal injection chemicals. In 2011, Italy, an anti-death penalty nation, successfully pressured the Illinois company, Hospira, to stop selling sodium theopental, the muscle relaxant used in the three-drug Lethal injection protocol ([Time 0:11:27](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b2d12183-e7c7-49d0-97e3-63e38e3e2291)) - **Drug Supply Shift Transformed Executions** - European export controls and corporate refusals choked off key execution drugs and forced states to change protocols. - That shift produced single‑drug executions with documented painful effects like pulmonary edema and visible suffering. Transcript: Stephen Monticelli A weak point in the American death penalty machinery was its reliance on companies that provided the lethal injection chemicals. In 2011, Italy, an anti-death penalty nation, successfully pressured the Illinois company, Hospira, to stop selling sodium theopental, the muscle relaxant used in the three-drug Lethal injection protocol used in Texas since the early 1980s. That same year, Reprieve, a British human rights nonprofit, arranged for Breon to travel to Europe to meet face-to with executives at the corporate headquarters of the Danish pharmaceutical Company Lundbeck. Aware that the meeting would put them in the international spotlight, Lundbeck three days prior announced that they would stop shipping the sedative Nembitol, which was being used As a substitute for sodium theopental to American prison systems. Bujan described his conversation with the Lundbeck company in an interview with us. Rais Bhuiyan After one hour of great conversation, they agreed to write a letter to the governor of Texas, asking him not to use their product to kill human beings. Michael Phillips The state of Texas, however, was unwilling to grant a crime victim his fervent wish. Even though Texas politicians repeatedly claim they execute murderers to bring the victims closure, Bouillon said he was denied this by the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons and Then-Governor Rick Perry. Rais Bhuiyan I reached out to the prison system and asked him for a mediation dialogue. But unfortunately, you know, they turned down my request multiple times. And the reason they showed was it would re-victimize me. So basically a mediation dialogue I saw would be helpful for me to find closure, to find a lot of answers. But for them, it would be a re-victimization process for me. So they rejected my request multiple times. And it really made me sad that when they needed me to testify in the court, the conviction to get the death penalty, I was a good victim. But then when I tried to exercise my right as a victim to have a mediation dialogue, I became a bad victim because I asked for my rights. Michael Phillips In his final hour, Stroman spoke directly to his surviving victim. Rais Bhuiyan I had the opportunity to talk to him off the phone before he was executed. And it was the day of his execution where he put my name as one of the people he would be able to talk. So I was lucky enough to talk to him. And when he came on the phone, I was about to go to the court to give a last fight to stay the execution. So I was thinking, what would I say to a human being who is about to be executed in a couple of hours? And I'm going to, you know, go to a court to give a, you know, last fight to, you know, see if we could save him. So I was very emotional when he came on the phone. I told him that, Mark, you know for sure that I never hated you. I forgave you. And I'm doing my best to, you know, save your life, you know, through this couriering. And he said that, I never expected that from you. And I love you, bro. And that brought tears into my eyes that this is the same human being who shocked me for no reasons other than having hate and viral disease. And now 10 years later, he saw me, he could see me as his brother and he said he loved me. Why he couldn't see me as his brother 10 years ago? And why he couldn't see the same thing 10 years ago? So, you know, at least it helped me to find closer a little bit. It helped me to move forward. At least I had the chance to talk to my attacker. And then gave me a lot of hope that people can change. The execution itself, however, left Bouillon cold. Well, definitely, this execution, it was not for the victims, because the victims and the victims' family members requested and also fought for clemency. You know, we went ahead and requested the governor of Texas, the Board of Corders and Paroles, do not execute him in our names. You know, show mercy. Stephen Monticelli Mark Stroman died as scheduled on July 20th, 2011. And though Beyond and Halperin failed to stop it, they had helped start an international movement to thwart the ability of states to carry out such lethal injections. As Professor Clarina Lane revealed in her book Secrets of the Killing State, after Hespira stopped producing sodium theopentol, the vacuum was filled by a fly-by company called Dream Pharma. The drug distributor, quote, turned out to be two desks at a filing cabinet hidden in the back of a London driving school, as Lane wrote. Once this operation was exposed, Great Britain banned sodium theopenthal sales to the United States. Michael Phillips By December 2011, the entire European Union had tightened export controls on any chemicals that could potentially be used in executions. The new expanded EU ban made life much more difficult for would-be executioners in the United States. In 2012, when the state of Missouri announced it would use the drug Propufol as an anesthetic in its executions, the EU said it would cut off exports of that drug, which is used for surgeries In the United States about 50 million times a year. Stephen Monticelli Combined these moves created a lethal injection drug shortage that changed how executions took place. ([Time 0:18:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8009d537-e2b4-475c-83e6-15292bf333f2)) - **Ask For Mediation To Seek Closure** - Victims should assert their rights to dialogue and mediation even if systems resist, because it can aid closure. - Rais Bhuiyan asked repeatedly for mediation with Stroman and found system refusals retraumatizing. Transcript: Rais Bhuiyan I reached out to the prison system and asked him for a mediation dialogue. But unfortunately, you know, they turned down my request multiple times. And the reason they showed was it would re-victimize me. So basically a mediation dialogue I saw would be helpful for me to find closure, to find a lot of answers. But for them, it would be a re-victimization process for me. So they rejected my request multiple times. And it really made me sad that when they needed me to testify in the court, the conviction to get the death penalty, I was a good victim. ([Time 0:19:29](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7ffeeef9-d02c-40e5-ab24-2b65ae2e2bec)) - **Secrecy And Illicit Drug Sourcing** - States responded to shortages by using deceptive, illegal, or gray‑market tactics to obtain execution drugs. - Laws hiding suppliers and secret purchases made the death‑penalty process increasingly opaque and risky. Transcript: Michael Phillips Officials have lied to pharmaceutical companies that are buying drugs to provide medical care for prisoners that they later use in the death chamber. Death penalty states have violated federal laws. They have illegally swapped these drugs across state line, or they bought them on the black market or the legally marginal so-called gray market. Professor Lane describes the shady lengths the state of Ohio went to in order to buy these drugs. The state took $15,000 in cash in a suitcase. I mean, you can't make this stuff up, you know, and chartered a private plane to fly over to Washington where they did an under the table deal for drugs with this little pharmacy. You know, you need a prescription for these drugs. And so here's a pharmacy that for $15,000 is willing to sell drugs under the table and allegedly in a Walmart parking lot. Stephen Monticelli To cope with the shrinking supply, states have made illegal purchases overseas. Like other states, Texas has tried to circumvent tightening restrictions by purchasing death penalty supplies from loosely regulated compounding pharmacies. And some of them have been here in the states. In 2018, it was revealed that Texas repeatedly bought drugs from the Green Park Compounding Pharmacy in Houston, which is a company that had been fined 48 times by federal regulators For safety violations, including providing the wrong medication to children who were subsequently hospitalized. The number of agonizingly prolonged executions in Texas suggest that the drugs the state buys are often out of date or impure. Michael Phillips Finding out where the lethal drugs are coming from is becoming increasingly difficult. A number of states have passed laws making it illegal to report on who carries out the execution, what companies supply the drugs, or how these drugs were purchased. ([Time 0:24:52](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f7a796e4-428c-4da3-bdc6-6b56173b034b)) - **Death Penalty Shrinking And Losing Support** - Executions in the US have concentrated in a few states while overall state adoption has declined from 40 to 27. - Public support is dropping, especially among younger generations, reducing the death penalty's long‑term viability. Transcript: Michael Phillips At the time of the landmark 1972 Furman v. Georgia case that temporarily halted executions in the United States, 40 states had the death penalty. Currently, only 27 do. In 2024, four states alone, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, carried out 76 percent of the executions that unfolded in the United States. Stephen Monticelli Some of the remaining states with the death penalty on the books have responded to the shortage of lethal drugs by authorizing the use of the firing squad and killing prisoners with Nitrogen gas hypoxia, which suffocates them by forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen. ([Time 0:26:49](https://share.snipd.com/snip/9543b894-09b7-4e8a-a04f-be5846515654)) - **Accompanying Prisoners In Their Final Hours** - Rev. Jeff Hood began accompanying death‑row prisoners after Ramirez v. Collier affirmed spiritual advisors' rights and has witnessed ten executions. - He described intense fear entering the chamber and praying scripture to comfort the condemned. Transcript: Rev. Jeff Hood I began to have people reaching out during that time, you know, and asking me if I would accompany them to the death chamber. And, you know, it's one thing to be willing to have relationships with people who are executed. It's a whole nother thing to be asked to participate in the process. And so since then, I've witnessed, I've been in the chamber with 10 different guys. So from January of 2023 to now, I've watched 10 different men be executed by the state. Stephen Monticelli Hood attended his first execution when the state of Oklahoma put Scott Eisenberg to death on January 12th, 2023. 20 years earlier, Eisenberg murdered an elderly couple, including a man he bludgeoned to death. Rev. Jeff Hood My first execution was Scott Eisenberg in Oklahoma. And he, Scott had a number of things going on, but we were very close. He had a lot of anger issues and I think difficulty controlling his temper and whatnot. And, you know, so the reality was I was very frightened before I went in because I thought Scott was just going to go ballistic. And, you know, to be in that room with someone that goes ballistic, I mean, it's already traumatic enough, as I'm sure you can imagine, without, you know, something like that. But then again, you couldn't you can't blame them for wanting to, you know, push back and fight for their lives and whatnot. I found myself shaking just, you know, my hands and my legs, just terror. I mean, just utterly terrified. And then they opened the door and I was led in and I saw Scott. And it's incredibly strange to see someone hooked up to machines that look like they're there to support life. And yet, you know that they're there to take his life. And so I wasn't able, I mean, I knew that there was a window on one side. I wasn't able to see through that window because there was a curtain down. And I began to pray with Scott. Scott had asked me to read a number of scriptures, and I did. And I dropped my Bible at one point because I was shaking so bad I was having trouble holding it. You know, he notices that I'm shaking. He notices that I'm upset, and he looks at me and tells me everything's going to be okay. And I'm thinking to myself, no, it's not. Like, no, it is not. And I'm thinking, you know, you're going to die and I'm going to be scarred for life. Everything is not going to be okay. ([Time 0:34:34](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0ded68bc-1979-4578-b81a-9e0dbce55d20)) - **The 'Medical' Mask Of Lethal Injection** - Hood argues lethal injection is a staged medical illusion that conceals real suffering and panic during execution. - Witnesses report gurgling, gasping, and physical signs consistent with drowning in several lethal‑injection deaths. Transcript: Rev. Jeff Hood In every lethal injection i have uh immediately heard snoring uh and what sounds not like uh you know snoring from you know that one would have when they sleep or whatever, but more of A gurgling kind of snoring. And, you know, it's the body responds in a very panicked fashion. And so it's almost like it's like drowning someone who's completely paralyzed. And I think that that's, think that's what it's been like every time. I think that there is a level of suffering that is that is hidden. There's a reason that, again, that it's made to look like a medical procedure because it does look like a medical procedure. I think it is a con. Hood ([Time 0:38:32](https://share.snipd.com/snip/56ab9864-a8e7-4d0b-a87e-ddf2f99a2097)) - **Nitrogen Execution Was Indescribable Horror** - Hood described Alabama's first nitrogen hypoxia execution as horrific: convulsions, masking issues, fluids pooling, and a prolonged death of at least 22 minutes. - The execution endangered witnesses and left him traumatized and haunted by images. Transcript: Rev. Jeff Hood I can tell you that as horrible as a lethal injection is, and yes, it is a con job, I can tell you that what I saw during the nitrogen execution is indescribable. I can tell you that I think I would rather be burned to death than be executed by nitrogen. I mean, it is that bad. Michael Phillips Hood attended the hypoxia suffocation of Kenneth Smith, a contract killer, on January 25th, 2024, the first such execution in American history. Smith had been sentenced to death 36 years earlier. Hood said the horrors for him began when he stepped into the death chamber and saw Smith outfitted with a large mass that would deliver the poison gas. Attending this execution actually put Hood's life in jeopardy. Rev. Jeff Hood I can describe it for y'all listeners, but the mask, which I'm holding right here, a replica, is basically something that is gas netting in the back. It has silicone straps. It's put over the back of someone's head, and it is strapped as tight as possible to try to keep it on. And it looks like a firefighter's mask with sort of a plexiglass plate on the front. And then there's a hose that's going from the firefighter's mask with the plexiglass plate to the nitrogen. So what is happening is they try to pump as much nitrogen as possible through this line. The problem is that these masks don't completely hold to form, I guess is the best way of saying it, in that it's difficult for you to get an airtight seal. So the more oxygen that gets in here, the more it's displacing nitrogen. And so the more oxygen that's in here, and obviously there's going to be oxygen in the tube, there's going to be oxygen in the mass before the thing even starts, is going to create more Suffering. It's going to create a longer process. Stephen Monticelli Hood knew that he would be in a chamber in which poison gas would be released, and he felt obligated to tell his children in advance that he could be harmed. They were terrified, of course, but he felt an obligation to provide Smith company and compassion as well. Again, we remind listeners that what they are about to hear might be upsetting. Rev. Jeff Hood So by the time we get to the point where they turn the nitrogen on, all the witnesses, everybody in the room is like going, nobody knows what's about to happen because it's never been tried Before. And so they turn it on and Kenny immediately begins to heave back and forth and back and forth over and over. And every time he heaves forward, the back of the mask was strapped to the gurney. So every time he heaves forward, his face is hitting the front of that mask over and over and over and over. And so it's like watching someone hit their face against a clay glass window. And it's like his nose and his face is flattening every time he does it. And he begins to shake back and forth and back and forth, heaving up and down. I see spit and saliva and snot and eye water and all sorts of fluid is coming out of his face. And that fluid begins to build up on the front of the mask and it begins to drizzle like a waterfall. Michael Phillips Smith convulsed with so much force, prison officials worried his mask might come off, interrupting the execution and possibly killing Hood and maybe others in attendance. A window separated Hood from other witnesses, and the violence of Smith's death caused a commotion. Rev. Jeff Hood The windows are like super thick. I shouldn't have been able to hear anything, but I could hear somebody behind me screaming, stop, stop, stop, stop, please stop, stop, stop. And it was it was an absolute nightmare. And Kenny did not die for at least 22 minutes. And it's very possible that he didn't die for a longer period of time. But the state of Alabama declares, they say, oh, you know, he's not breathing, he's dead. Then they push everybody out of the room and then they bring the doctor in after everybody's left to declare him dead. Hood ([Time 0:39:35](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d821a0a8-3dd8-4edc-ae58-0e7f1859ef6a))