Florida should introduce new laws TO ALLOW A MORE DIGNIFIED DEATH PROCESS FOR PRISONERS FACING EXECUTION

A memorial service has been held today for Mike Lambrix, executed by the State of Florida on October 5, 2017. His funeral will finally be held next November 17, more than a month later after his death. Not only Mike Lambrix never got to know who his executioner was, his family had to wait that long after his cremation to bury his urn in the family cemetery plot.
This raises the question as to whether the State of Florida should introduce new robust safeguards in support of a more dignified death process. Such laws already exists for terminally ill people in other states. Shouldn't prisoners facing execution enjoy similar rights as terminally ill people?

Mike Lambrix will be part of an art exhibition "Noble is Man"
at the Center of Nobel Peace in Oslo next September 2018.
He has always maintained his innocence.
Credit Photo: Rune Eraker

What is the issue?

The current legislation in Florida does not allow prisoners on death row or any other parties to learn the identity of those participating in their executions. In particular, under the 2017 Florida Statute, article 945.10(g), Information [held by the Department of Corrections] which identifies an executioner, or any person prescribing, preparing, compounding, dispensing, or administering a lethal injection, are confidential.
It has been long argued that this law breaches any standard of decency when it comes to executions, which are carried out in somewhat absurd conditions.  As noted by the Associated Press as early as 2007:

Doctors hired to monitor and participate
in lethal injection executions wear purple "moon suits" and goggles to conceal their identities from witnesses and circumvent an American Medical Association (AMA) code that forbids participation in executions, according to the Associated Press. Though Florida and other states say the participation of medical personnel ensures "a dignified and humane death" for those facing execution, the AMA, the American Nurses Association, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the Florida Medical Association all disagree.
Source: Associated Press, August 26, 2007  (Read more)

Ten years down the line, the situation remains essentially the same, as testified by Mike Lambrix, at the time of his execution, who compared the process he went through to "an adventure": The physician who checked his veins was masked, whispering to others. not communicating with him directly nor disclosing his identity. Mike Lambrix never got to know whether the person who checked his veins was actually even a physician.

Whilst such process might has been qualified in the past as providing "a dignified and humane death" in the past, it is clear that Florida should now further reflect on the evolving standards of physicians assisted death that exist in other states.

What are the laws that exist in other states?

Death with Dignity laws, also known as physician-assisted dying or aid-in-dying laws are laws that provides safeguards to protect terminally ill patients and prevents misuse. For example, two physicians must confirm the patient’s residency, diagnosis, prognosis, mental competence. Whilst Death in Dignity laws exist only for terminally ill patients, they could provide inspiration for reinventing the legal framework that would allow a more dignified death process of prisoners facing execution.

Physician-assisted dying laws today already exist in

• California (End of Life Option Act; 2016)
• Colorado (End of Life Options Act; 2016)
• District of Columbia (Death with Dignity Act; 2017)
• Oregon (Oregon Death with Dignity Act; 1994/1997)
• Vermont (Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life Act; 2013)
• Washington (Washington Death with Dignity Act; 2008)

There is no legislative activity around Death with Dignity in Florida.