Family and friends on behalf of Robert Henry, who is scheduled to be executed March 20,
are calling for a stay of Henry’s execution. Citing to junk science
and cruel protocols, Henry’s campaign is calling Florida’s new protocol
on executions “cruel and unusual.” Henry was sentenced to death in
Broward County for the 1988 deaths of Janet Cox Thermidor and Phyllis
Harris.
Since Robert has been on death row, he has served as a counselor and mentor to those struggling with the addiction issues. Mr.
Henry knows the horrific toll of untreated addiction – his
crack-cocaine addiction led to his condemnation to death, and the death
of Ms. Harris and Ms. Thermidor.
“If Henry’s execution is carried out, he will
suffer excruciating pain,” said campaign spokesperson Talitha Hazelton.
“This is state-sanctioned torture.Injecting a cruel cocktail into Mr.
Henry is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and makes a mockery of
our democratic system of justice. We cannot allow sadistic new
protocols to trump Floridians’ commitment to decency and humane
treatment of our fellow citizens.”
In September of 2013, Florida changed its protocol for lethal
injections. Previously, the State utilized barbiturates in step one of
its three-step injection process, which put inmates in a coma-like state
prior to administering the second, paralyzing drug. The sources for
barbiturates have been running dry, however, because of ethical concerns
in the medical profession and unwanted publicity for pharmaceutical
companies.
As a quick fix to the drug shortage, Florida has
changed the way it does executions: the lethal cocktail now calls for
Midazolam, a drug the FDA has not approved for lethal injections.
Midazolam is in a class of drugs normally used to treat anxiety, such as
Xanax. It is not a substitute for anesthesia and is inadequate to
produce the deep, coma-like unconsciousness required before the
administration of the second, paralyzing drug which shuts down the
body’s functions. In fact, no studies exist at all to show the effects
of Florida's megadose of this drug. As a result, lead
anesthesiologists report that Midazolam’s shoddy sedative properties can
result in “a sensation akin to being buried alive” for the person being
executed.
Call and write Governor Scott and demand he stop
the execution of Robert Henry, and tell him NO CRUEL COCKTAIL in my
name! Governor’s office: 850-488-7146, email:
rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com
For more information on Robert’s case, follow his Twitter campaign
@SaveRobertHenry or contact the campaign at
NoCruelCocktail@gmail.com or (561) 325-9317
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