Execution methods

North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Execution Method

Gurney in the execution chamber In 1998, North Carolina made lethal injection its only method of execution. In preparation for the execution, the inmate is secured with lined ankle and wrist restraints to a gurney. Cardiac monitor leads and a stethoscope are attached. Two saline intravenous lines are started, one in each arm, and the inmate is covered with a sheet.

The inmate is given the opportunity to speak and pray with the chaplain. The warden then gives the condemned an opportunity to record a final statement that will be made public. After the witnesses are in place, the inmate's gurney is taken into the chamber by correctional officers who draw the curtain and exit. Appropriately trained personnel then enter behind the curtain and connect the cardiac monitor leads, the injection devices and the stethoscope to the appropriate leads. The warden informs the witnesses that the execution is about to begin. He returns to the chamber and gives the order to proceed.

The lethal injection process involves the simultaneous slow pushing into two intravenous lines of chemicals contained in two separate sets of syringes. The syringes are prepared in advance and each contains only one drug.

The first syringes contain no less than 3000 milligrams of sodium pentothal, an ultra short acting barbiturate that quickly puts the inmate to sleep. The second syringes contain saline to flush the IV line clean.

The third syringes contain no less than 40 milligrams of pancuronium bromide (Pavulon), which is a chemical paralytic agent. The fourth syringes contain no less than 160 millequivalents of potassium chloride, which at this high dosage interrupts nerve impulses to the heart, causing it to stop beating. The fifth syringes contain saline to flush the IV lines clean.

After a flat line displays on the EKG monitor for five minutes, the warden pronounces the inmate dead and a physician certifies that death has occurred. The witnesses are escorted to the elevators and the body is released to the medical examiner.

The Death Penalty