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MoveAlong As one of Pike’s attorneys alluded to, I suspect that whomever established the IV site was likely inexperienced. There’s a high likelihood that the IV catheter was not properly placed into the vein and a portion of the pentobarbital extravasated resulting in an insufficient amount within her venous circulation for a lethal dose.
I remember one case approximately 10 years ago when a criminal sentenced to death was allowed by state law (cannot recall which state it was) to choose his method of execution. He chose “lethal injection” and then while multiple appeals & stays played out, he ate everything in sight. By the time the state was ready to execute him he had gained over 200 pounds. Whomever they had there to start the IV line was unable to find a vein.
I was asked about this and I said, “why didn’t they start an intraosseous line?” I was initially ridiculed for this with a know it all saying: “intraosseous means inside a bone.”
I explained that IO lines are frequently used in resuscitations (e.g. cardiac arrests) when immediate access was needed but the patient had difficult veins. The trocar is inserted into the bone marrow cavity and makes a rapid and effective line.
Even EMT’s and Paramedics are trained in placing IO’s.
In pharmacology we refer to
Lethal Dose 50—the amount of a drug that would result in death in 50 percent of patients if ingested. The lethal dose of Nembutal (generic name of pentobarbital) is about 30 milligrams per liter (mg/L) when taken orally. I was unable to find the LD50 for IV administration.
My best guess from the brief description of Pike’s experience is that there was a partial extravasation of the pentobarbital.
There have been a number of problems with the supposedly “more humane” methods of pharmaceutical executions including attempts to use nitrous oxide.
