Death Penalty By Lethal Injection “Permanently Enjoined.”

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation promulgated regulations regarding the manner in which the death penalty by lethal injection is carried out. The trial court found the regulations substantially failed to comply with the California Administrative Procedure Act [Government Code section 11340 et seq.] and invalidated the regulations in their entirety. The gist of plaintiff’s challenge to the regulations is the claim is that the use of one of the three drugs in the three-drug regulatory formula—pancuronium bromide, a neuromuscular agent that paralyzes the body’s voluntary muscles—“is unnecessary and dangerous, and serves only to increase the risk that the condemned person will suffer excruciating pain” and “the rulemaking file makes clear that there are no countervailing benefits or compelling reasons to use pancuronium bromide as part of the execution process.” The appellate court affirmed much of the trial court’s decision, holding:  “The judgment is affirmed insofar as it declares that the CDCR’s lethal injection protocol (California Code of  Regulations, Title 15, Sections 3349-3349.4.6) is invalid for substantial failure to comply with the requirements of the APA, and permanently enjoins the CDCR from carrying out the execution of any condemned inmate by lethal injection unless and until new regulations governing lethal injection execution are promulgated in compliance with the APA.” Sims v. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation  (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 2; May 30, 2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 1059.