Execution Countdown: Manuel Valle dies in Florida

Cuban citizen Manuel Valle was executed today by the state of Florida, despite a dissenting opinion from Justice Bryer of the US Supreme Court.

Reprieve presents extracts from the Florida Department of Corrections Execution by Lethal Injection Procedures --  the protocol that will be used to kill him.

1) Selection of the Execution Team:

 The team warden shall select other execution team members to carry out the following tasks: 1. Showering and preparation of the inmate, 2. Ensuring that the equipment necessary for an execution is in proper working order, 3.  Escorting the inmate from his cell to the execution chamber, 4.  Applying restraints to the inmate prior to applying the heart monitor leads and acquiring venous access, 5. Maintaining the open telephone line with the Office of the Governor.

2) On the day of Execution:

  ...The inmate will be allowed to request specific food and non-alcoholic drink to the extent such food and drink costs forty dollars ($40) or less, is available at the institution and is approved by the food service director... The inmate will be escorted by one or more team members to the shower areas where a team member of the same gender will supervise the showering of the inmate.

A designated execution team member, in the presence of one or more additional team members and an independent observer from the Florida Department of Law will prepare the lethal injection chemicals as follows... 1) Pentobarbital sodium injection 2) Pancuronium bromide 3) Potassium chloride 4) Saline solution.

 Designated members of the execution team will apply wrist restraints to the inmate and escort him from his cell to the execution chamber... Unless the team warden has previously determined to gain venous access through a central line, a designated team member will insert one intravenous (IV) line into each arm at the medial aspect of the antecubital fossa of the inmate and ensure that the saline drip is flowing freely.

If peripheral venous access cannot be achieved, a designated team member will perform a central venous placement, with or without a venous cut-down (wherein a vein is exposed surgically and a cannual inserted), at one or more sites deemed appropiate by that team member.

4) Approximately Fifteen (15) Minutes Prior to Execution:

The execution chamber will be secured. Only the team warden, one additional team member and one FDLE monitor shall be allowed in the chamber during the administration of the execution.

5) Administration of the execution:

An execution team member will open the covering to the witness gallery window. The team warden will use the open telephone line to determine from the Governor whether there has been a stay of execution. If the team warden recieves a negative response, he will then proceed with the execution.