How do lethal injections work

Lethal injection is the most common method of capital punishment in the US.

infographic how lethal injections work? outside image

On April 24, Arkansas executed two death row inmates on the same gurney in a single day – the first double execution in the United States since 2000.

Arkansas plans to execute eight inmates by the end of April, when its supply of midazolam, an anaesthetic used in lethal injections, expires.

Since Arkansas’ rush to execute death row prisoners began, several legal cases and appeals have been filed on behalf of the inmates, citing recent botched executions through legal injections in Oklahoma and Arizona.

With recurrent legal efforts to effectively ban lethal injection, many states have adopted alternative methods of execution, including firing squads and gas chambers.

Lethal injections, however, remain the most common method of capital punishment across the US.