News, In moon suits, Fla. doctors carry out executions. (heartbeat, nurse, medical)

[JD59]

Physicians' identity shielded from inmates and families — and ethics boards

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - At all Florida lethal injections, a man in a purple moon suit leans over the dying inmate to listen for a heartbeat and feel for a pulse. After a few seconds, he nods, and the witnesses are informed that the death sentence has been duly carried out.

The man is a doctor and the gear shields his identity — not just from the prisoner’s family and friends, but from the American Medical Association, whose code of ethics bars members from participating in executions.

Moon suits hide doctors’ identities - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

[Mattie Jo]

I think they should make the prisons identify him. I certainly would not want to go to a doctor that did this, and we have a right to know.

[Wanderlust07]

Originally Posted by jessaka

I think they should make the prisons identify him. I certainly would not want to go to a doctor that did this, and we have a right to know.

I disagree. To begin with, it makes no sense that the medical profession's stance would fly in the face of our justice system's demand for punishment to not be "cruel and unusual"...would it be preferable to have a lower-level medical professional such as a nurse administer the lethal injection and pronounce the inmate dead -- and if so, should their identities be disclosed? Obviously, the most reasonable way to address this is to have a physician attend the execution -- yet the AMA's code of ethics prohibits the physician's participation in executions?? We, as a society, have accepted the practice of execution as punishment, so who is supposed to ensure that the execution is carried out properly and that the inmate is actually deceased, as intended?

This appears no different than the age-old practice of the executioner wearing a hood...someone has to carry out the job, so why should their identity be compromised? Protecting his/her identity is the least we can do for someone who is willing to take on such an undesirable task, and whose professional expertise is so critical in this situation. The fact that a physician is willing to ensure that a convict with a death sentence has that sentence carried out as "humanely" as possible doesn't affect his or her ability to practice medicine competently; therefore, we do not have the right to know his or her identity.

[Mattie Jo]

wanderlust, thanks for that information. that makes more sense than my comment.