Request for Information Regarding the Use of Pentobarbital in Federal Executions, 58529-58531 [2022-20886]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2022 / Notices In a revision of this ICR, States are directed to a secure, web-based portal (PILT Portal) to provide the required ‘‘Statement of Federal Land Payments’’ information versus using a spreadsheet. The data collected remains the same and provides details on payment amounts passed through to counties and/or units of local government during the prior Federal fiscal year. Title of Collection: Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act, Statement of Federal Lands Payments. OMB Control Number: 1093–0005. Form Number: None. Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection. Respondents/Affected Public: State governments. Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 46. Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 46. Estimated Completion Time per Response: 55 hours. Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,530 hours. Respondent’s Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit. Frequency of Collection: Annually. Total Estimated Annual Non-Hour Burden Cost: None. An agency may not conduct, or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Jeffrey Parrillo, Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2022–20813 Filed 9–26–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4334–63–P INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337–TA–1289] Certain Knitted Footwear; Notice of a Commission Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Granting a Joint Motion To Terminate the Investigation in its Entirety Based Upon Settlement; Termination of the Investigation U.S. International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined not to review the presiding administrative law judge’s (‘‘ALJ’’) initial determination SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:51 Sep 26, 2022 Jkt 256001 (‘‘ID’’) (Order No. 17) granting a joint motion to terminate the investigation in its entirety based upon settlement. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Panyin A. Hughes, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 205–3042. Copies of non-confidential documents filed in connection with this investigation may be viewed on the Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov. For help accessing EDIS, please email EDIS3Help@usitc.gov. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server at https://www.usitc.gov. Hearing-impaired persons are advised that information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the Commission’s TDD terminal on (202) 205–1810. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 13, 2022, the Commission instituted this investigation based on a complaint filed by Nike, Inc. of Beaverton, Oregon. 87 FR 2176–77 (Jan. 13, 2022). The complaint alleged violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, based on the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of certain knitted footwear by reason of infringement of one or more claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,918,511; 9,743,705; 8,266,749; 7,814,598; 9,060,562; and 8,898,932. Id. The Commission’s notice of investigation named the following adidas entities as respondents: adidas AG of Herzogenaurach, Germany; adidas North America, Inc. of Portland Oregon; and adidas America, Inc. also of Portland, Oregon. The Office of Unfair Import Investigations was not named as a party in this investigation. Id. On March 7, 2022, the ALJ granted an unopposed motion to amend the Complaint and Notice of Investigation to add an additional adidas respondent, adidas International Trading AG of Lucerne, Switzerland. Order No. 8 (Mar. 7, 2022), unreviewed by Comm’n Notice (Mar. 21, 2022); 87 FR 17100–101 (Mar. 25, 2022). On August 18, 2022, the parties filed a joint motion to terminate the investigation in its entirety based upon a settlement agreement that ‘‘resolves all disputed issues in this investigation.’’ ID at 2. On August 24, 2022, the ALJ issued the subject ID granting the motion. The ID observed that Commission Rule 210.21(a)(2) provides that ‘‘[a]ny party may move at any time to terminate an investigation in whole or in part as to PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 58529 any or all respondents on the basis of a settlement, a licensing or other agreement . . . .’’ 19 CFR 210.21(a)(2). The ID found that in compliance with 19 CFR 210.21(b)(1), ‘‘the motion contains a statement that there are no other agreements, written or oral, express or implied, between the private parties concerning the subject matter of this investigation.’’ ID at 2. The parties also submitted confidential and public versions of the settlement agreement. The ID further found that granting the motion would cause ‘‘no adverse effect on the public interest.’’ Id. No one petitioned for review of the subject ID. The Commission has determined not to review the subject ID. The investigation is terminated in its entirety. The Commission vote for this determination took place on September 21, 2022. The authority for the Commission’s determination is contained in section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1337), and in Part 210 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR part 210). By order of the Commission. Issued: September 22, 2022. Katherine Hiner, Acting Secretary to the Commission. [FR Doc. 2022–20881 Filed 9–26–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7020–02–P DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE [Docket No. OLP 173] Request for Information Regarding the Use of Pentobarbital in Federal Executions Office of Legal Policy, Department of Justice. ACTION: Request for information. AGENCY: The Department of Justice is seeking comments from the public regarding the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital sodium (‘‘pentobarbital’’), and any other relevant portion of the Bureau of Prisons’ 2019 Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol. DATES: Electronic comments must be submitted, and written comments must be postmarked, on or before November 28, 2022. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OLP 173, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you do not have internet access or SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\27SEN1.SGM 27SEN1 58530 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2022 / Notices electronic submission is not possible, you may mail written comments to Docket Clerk, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference the agency name and Docket No. OLP 173 on your correspondence. • Please note that comments submitted by email or fax may not be reviewed by DOJ. Privacy Note: The Justice Department’s policy is to make all comments received from members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, (202) 514–8059 (this is not a toll-free number). If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), please call the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 8339. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Public Participation Interested persons are invited to comment on this notice by submitting written data, views, or arguments. jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES II. Background On July 1, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on all federal executions pending a review of certain policies and procedures. See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures (July 1, 2021), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/ file/1408636/download. In the memorandum, the Attorney General stated that ‘‘[s]erious concerns have been raised about the continued use of the death penalty across the country, including arbitrariness in its application, disparate impact on people of color, and the troubling number of exonerations in capital and other serious cases.’’ Id. In the two years preceding the issuance of the moratorium, the Justice Department made a series of changes to its policies and procedures governing capital sentences and carried out the first federal executions in nearly two decades between July 2020 and January VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:51 Sep 26, 2022 Jkt 256001 2021. Id. ‘‘To ensure that the Department’s policies and procedures are consistent with the principles articulated in [the] memorandum,’’ Attorney General Garland directed the Deputy Attorney General to undertake and supervise reviews concerning both the method and manner of federal executions and the policies and procedures governing all federal cases in which a defendant is charged, or could be charged, with an offense subject to the death penalty. The subject of this Request for Information concerns the method of execution. Id. A. State Lethal Injection Protocols Almost all states that currently permit the death penalty allow for lethal injections as their primary method of execution (South Carolina is an exception, having established electrocution as the primary method of execution).1 State protocols concerning the use of lethal injection vary; they consist of one-, two-, and three-drug methods. The three-drug protocol used by the states typically involves an anesthetic or sedative, followed by pancuronium bromide to stop breathing and paralyze the inmate, and finally potassium chloride to stop the inmate’s heart. The one- or two-drug protocols typically use a lethal dose of an anesthetic or sedative.2 There has been much litigation regarding death penalty protocols. In Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008), the Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s use of a three-drug combination, including sodium pentothal (also called sodium thiopental), which induces unconsciousness; pancuronium bromide; and potassium chloride. However, practical obstacles soon emerged as pharmaceutical companies began refusing to supply the drugs used to implement the death sentences. See Glossip v. Gross, 576 U.S. 863, 869–70 (2015). In particular, the sole American manufacturer of sodium pentothal stopped producing the drug because of its use in the death penalty.3 After the availability of sodium pentothal declined, several states developed an alternative drug combination that replaced sodium pentothal with pentobarbital. Glossip, 576 U.S. at 870. Georgia, Idaho, 1 Death Penalty Information Center, Methods of Execution, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/ methods-of-execution. 2 Death Penalty Information Center, State by State Lethal Injection, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/statelethal-injection. 3 Press Release, Hospira, STATEMENT FROM HOSPIRA Regarding its halt of production of PentothalTM (sodium thiopental) (Jan. 21, 2011), https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/ documents/HospiraJan2011.pdf. PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas administer a single-drug pentobarbital protocol as the primary method of execution.4 B. Federal Death Penalty Legal Framework and Practice Implementation of the federal death penalty is governed by 18 U.S.C. 3596– 3597. These provisions require the federal government to carry out death sentences ‘‘in the manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence is imposed.’’ 18 U.S.C. 3596(a). Federal regulations further clarify that executions must be conducted by ‘‘intravenous injection of a lethal substance or substances in a quantity sufficient to cause death, such substance or substances to be determined by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or by any other manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence was imposed or which has been designated by a court in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3596(a).’’ 28 CFR 26.3(a)(4). In 2004, the federal government issued a 50-page ‘‘BOP Execution Protocol,’’ which outlined the Bureau of Prisons’ execution procedures. See BOP Execution Protocol Manual (2004). The protocol provided that execution would occur using lethal injection but did not specify the type of drugs to be used. Id. at pp. 7, 10. That being said, for the three federal executions conducted between 2001 and 2003, the Bureau of Prisons used a combination of sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. See In re Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Execution Protocol Cases, 955 F.3d 106, 110 (D.C. Cir. 2020). In 2007 and 2008, the government issued two three-page addenda to the 2004 BOP Execution Protocol. The 2008 Addendum memorialized the Bureau of Prisons’ use of those three substances in federal executions. See Addendum to BOP Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence Implementation Procedures (Effective August 1, 2008). In 2011, the Department of Justice announced that the Bureau of Prisons did not have the drugs it needed to implement the 2008 Addendum. However, no executions had been conducted since 2003, in part because of the unavailability of sodium pentothal.5 4 Death Penalty Information Center, State by State Lethal Injection, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/statelethal-injection. 5 See Letter from Office of Attorney General to National Association of Attorneys General (Mar. 4, 2011), available at https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/ datastore/general/2011/11/15/11-35940_EOR_VOL_ 5.pdf (at 000678). E:\FR\FM\27SEN1.SGM 27SEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2022 / Notices jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES C. 2019 Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol In July 2019, the then-Attorney General directed the Bureau of Prisons to adopt an Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol that provided for the use of a single drug, pentobarbital. See Press Release, Department of Justice, Federal Government to Resume Capital Punishment After Nearly Two Decade Lapse (July 25, 2019), https:// www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federalgovernment-resume-capitalpunishment-after-nearly-two-decadelapse; Memorandum for the Attorney General, The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Execution Protocol Addendum (July 24, 2019); Memorandum for the Attorney General, Summary of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Execution Protocol Addendum (July 24, 2019); see also Addendum to BOP Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence Implementation Procedures (Effective July 25, 2019), available at https://www.supremecourt.gov/ DocketPDF/19/19-1348/145068/ 20200605210117775_ 2020%2006%2005%20Appendix.pdf (at 210a). The Bureau of Prisons indicated in a memorandum to the then-Attorney General that it had a ‘‘viable domestic source’’ to obtain pentobarbital and that the manufacturer is properly registered as a bulk manufacturer of pentobarbital. See Memorandum for the Attorney General, Summary of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Execution Protocol Addendum (July 24, 2019). The Bureau of Prisons also ‘‘secured a compounding pharmacy to store the [active pharmaceutical ingredient] and to convert the [active pharmaceutical ingredient] into injectable form as needed.’’ Id. The 2019 Addendum, like at least one previous addendum, asserts that the ‘‘identities of personnel considered for and/or selected to perform death sentence related functions . . . shall be protected from disclosure to the fullest extent permitted by law.’’ Addendum to BOP Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence Implementation Procedures (Effective July 25, 2019). The 2019 Addendum also specifies other details such as defining the ‘‘qualified personnel’’ who can serve as the executioner(s); the number of rehearsals that non-medically licensed or certified qualified personnel must participate in prior to participating in an actual execution; dosage; identification of appropriate injection sites; the number of backup syringes; and how and when the condemned individual should be VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:51 Sep 26, 2022 Jkt 256001 escorted into the room, restrained, and monitored. Id. From July 2020 to January 2021, the federal government executed thirteen death row inmates pursuant to the 2019 Addendum. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE D. 2021 Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures ACTION: As noted above, the Attorney General issued a moratorium on federal execution during the pendency of three reviews. The first, and the subject of this Request for Information, is a review to ‘‘assess the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital.’’ The review may also ‘‘address any other relevant portion’’ of the 2019 Addendum. See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures (July 1, 2021). As noted in the Attorney General’s memorandum, although some medical experts have concluded that the use of pentobarbital may risk inflicting painful pulmonary edema, the Supreme Court found that this risk was insufficient ‘‘to justify last-minute intervention by a Federal Court’’ shortly before an execution was scheduled to occur. Barr v. Lee, 140 S. Ct. 2590, 2591 (2020) (per curiam). However, ‘‘[a] risk need not meet the Court’s high threshold for such relief, or violate the Eighth Amendment, to raise important questions about our responsibility to treat individuals humanely and avoid unnecessary pain and suffering.’’ Memorandum from the Attorney General, Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures (July 1, 2021). To ensure that these considerations are taken into account, the Attorney General ordered this review. III. Solicitation of Comments The Department of Justice requests information from individuals or organizations regarding the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital and any other relevant portion of the 2019 Addendum. To contribute effectively to this review, all commenters are encouraged to provide comments that are responsive specifically to the topics of this review. Dated: September 21, 2022. Hampton Y. Dellinger, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy. [FR Doc. 2022–20886 Filed 9–26–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–BB–P PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 58531 [Docket No. OLP 171] Request for Information Regarding the Manner of Execution Regulations Department of Justice. Request for information. AGENCY: The Department of Justice is requesting information in the form of written comments that may include information, research, and data regarding 28 CFR part 26, which governs the implementation of federal executions. On November 27, 2020, the Department amended these regulations to expand the permissible methods of execution beyond lethal injection to ‘‘any other manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence was imposed.’’ The amendments also authorized the use of state facilities and personnel in federal executions and made a number of procedural changes, including granting the Attorney General authority to make exceptions to the regulations and to delegate duties within the Department. DATES: Electronic comments must be submitted, and written comments must be postmarked, on or before November 28, 2022. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. 171, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you do not have internet access or electronic submission is not possible, you may mail written comments to Docket Clerk, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference the agency name and Docket No. OLP 171 on your correspondence. • Please note that comments submitted by email or fax may not be reviewed by DOJ. Privacy Note: The Justice Department’s policy is to make all comments received from members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, (202) 514–8059 (this is not a toll-free number). If you use a SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\27SEN1.SGM 27SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58529-58531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20886]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[Docket No. OLP 173]


Request for Information Regarding the Use of Pentobarbital in 
Federal Executions

AGENCY: Office of Legal Policy, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice is seeking comments from the public 
regarding the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of 
pentobarbital sodium (``pentobarbital''), and any other relevant 
portion of the Bureau of Prisons' 2019 Addendum to the Federal 
Execution Protocol.

DATES: Electronic comments must be submitted, and written comments must 
be postmarked, on or before November 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OLP 173, 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you do not have 
internet access or

[[Page 58530]]

electronic submission is not possible, you may mail written comments to 
Docket Clerk, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, 
please reference the agency name and Docket No. OLP 173 on your 
correspondence.
     Please note that comments submitted by email or fax may 
not be reviewed by DOJ.
    Privacy Note: The Justice Department's policy is to make all 
comments received from members of the public available for public 
viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel, 
Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, (202) 514-8059 
(this is not a toll-free number). If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), please call the 
toll-free Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    Interested persons are invited to comment on this notice by 
submitting written data, views, or arguments.

II. Background

    On July 1, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a 
memorandum imposing a moratorium on all federal executions pending a 
review of certain policies and procedures. See Memorandum from the 
Attorney General, Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of 
Policies and Procedures (July 1, 2021), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/file/1408636/download. In the memorandum, the 
Attorney General stated that ``[s]erious concerns have been raised 
about the continued use of the death penalty across the country, 
including arbitrariness in its application, disparate impact on people 
of color, and the troubling number of exonerations in capital and other 
serious cases.'' Id.
    In the two years preceding the issuance of the moratorium, the 
Justice Department made a series of changes to its policies and 
procedures governing capital sentences and carried out the first 
federal executions in nearly two decades between July 2020 and January 
2021. Id. ``To ensure that the Department's policies and procedures are 
consistent with the principles articulated in [the] memorandum,'' 
Attorney General Garland directed the Deputy Attorney General to 
undertake and supervise reviews concerning both the method and manner 
of federal executions and the policies and procedures governing all 
federal cases in which a defendant is charged, or could be charged, 
with an offense subject to the death penalty. The subject of this 
Request for Information concerns the method of execution. Id.

A. State Lethal Injection Protocols

    Almost all states that currently permit the death penalty allow for 
lethal injections as their primary method of execution (South Carolina 
is an exception, having established electrocution as the primary method 
of execution).\1\ State protocols concerning the use of lethal 
injection vary; they consist of one-, two-, and three-drug methods. The 
three-drug protocol used by the states typically involves an anesthetic 
or sedative, followed by pancuronium bromide to stop breathing and 
paralyze the inmate, and finally potassium chloride to stop the 
inmate's heart. The one- or two-drug protocols typically use a lethal 
dose of an anesthetic or sedative.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Death Penalty Information Center, Methods of Execution, 
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/methods-of-execution.
    \2\ Death Penalty Information Center, State by State Lethal 
Injection, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-lethal-injection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There has been much litigation regarding death penalty protocols. 
In Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008), the Supreme Court upheld 
Kentucky's use of a three-drug combination, including sodium pentothal 
(also called sodium thiopental), which induces unconsciousness; 
pancuronium bromide; and potassium chloride. However, practical 
obstacles soon emerged as pharmaceutical companies began refusing to 
supply the drugs used to implement the death sentences. See Glossip v. 
Gross, 576 U.S. 863, 869-70 (2015). In particular, the sole American 
manufacturer of sodium pentothal stopped producing the drug because of 
its use in the death penalty.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Press Release, Hospira, STATEMENT FROM HOSPIRA Regarding its 
halt of production of PentothalTM (sodium thiopental) 
(Jan. 21, 2011), https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/documents/HospiraJan2011.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After the availability of sodium pentothal declined, several states 
developed an alternative drug combination that replaced sodium 
pentothal with pentobarbital. Glossip, 576 U.S. at 870. Georgia, Idaho, 
Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas administer a single-drug 
pentobarbital protocol as the primary method of execution.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Death Penalty Information Center, State by State Lethal 
Injection, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-lethal-injection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Federal Death Penalty Legal Framework and Practice

    Implementation of the federal death penalty is governed by 18 
U.S.C. 3596-3597. These provisions require the federal government to 
carry out death sentences ``in the manner prescribed by the law of the 
State in which the sentence is imposed.'' 18 U.S.C. 3596(a). Federal 
regulations further clarify that executions must be conducted by 
``intravenous injection of a lethal substance or substances in a 
quantity sufficient to cause death, such substance or substances to be 
determined by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or by any 
other manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence 
was imposed or which has been designated by a court in accordance with 
18 U.S.C. 3596(a).'' 28 CFR 26.3(a)(4).
    In 2004, the federal government issued a 50-page ``BOP Execution 
Protocol,'' which outlined the Bureau of Prisons' execution procedures. 
See BOP Execution Protocol Manual (2004). The protocol provided that 
execution would occur using lethal injection but did not specify the 
type of drugs to be used. Id. at pp. 7, 10. That being said, for the 
three federal executions conducted between 2001 and 2003, the Bureau of 
Prisons used a combination of sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide, 
and potassium chloride. See In re Federal Bureau of Prisons' Execution 
Protocol Cases, 955 F.3d 106, 110 (D.C. Cir. 2020).
    In 2007 and 2008, the government issued two three-page addenda to 
the 2004 BOP Execution Protocol. The 2008 Addendum memorialized the 
Bureau of Prisons' use of those three substances in federal executions. 
See Addendum to BOP Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence 
Implementation Procedures (Effective August 1, 2008). In 2011, the 
Department of Justice announced that the Bureau of Prisons did not have 
the drugs it needed to implement the 2008 Addendum. However, no 
executions had been conducted since 2003, in part because of the 
unavailability of sodium pentothal.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See Letter from Office of Attorney General to National 
Association of Attorneys General (Mar. 4, 2011), available at https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2011/11/15/11-35940_EOR_VOL_5.pdf (at 000678).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 58531]]

C. 2019 Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol

    In July 2019, the then-Attorney General directed the Bureau of 
Prisons to adopt an Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol that 
provided for the use of a single drug, pentobarbital. See Press 
Release, Department of Justice, Federal Government to Resume Capital 
Punishment After Nearly Two Decade Lapse (July 25, 2019), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-government-resume-capital-punishment-after-nearly-two-decade-lapse; Memorandum for the Attorney General, The 
Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Execution Protocol Addendum (July 
24, 2019); Memorandum for the Attorney General, Summary of the Federal 
Bureau of Prisons' Federal Execution Protocol Addendum (July 24, 2019); 
see also Addendum to BOP Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence 
Implementation Procedures (Effective July 25, 2019), available at 
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-1348/145068/20200605210117775_2020%2006%2005%20Appendix.pdf (at 210a).
    The Bureau of Prisons indicated in a memorandum to the then-
Attorney General that it had a ``viable domestic source'' to obtain 
pentobarbital and that the manufacturer is properly registered as a 
bulk manufacturer of pentobarbital. See Memorandum for the Attorney 
General, Summary of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Execution 
Protocol Addendum (July 24, 2019). The Bureau of Prisons also ``secured 
a compounding pharmacy to store the [active pharmaceutical ingredient] 
and to convert the [active pharmaceutical ingredient] into injectable 
form as needed.'' Id.
    The 2019 Addendum, like at least one previous addendum, asserts 
that the ``identities of personnel considered for and/or selected to 
perform death sentence related functions . . . shall be protected from 
disclosure to the fullest extent permitted by law.'' Addendum to BOP 
Execution Protocol: Federal Death Sentence Implementation Procedures 
(Effective July 25, 2019). The 2019 Addendum also specifies other 
details such as defining the ``qualified personnel'' who can serve as 
the executioner(s); the number of rehearsals that non-medically 
licensed or certified qualified personnel must participate in prior to 
participating in an actual execution; dosage; identification of 
appropriate injection sites; the number of backup syringes; and how and 
when the condemned individual should be escorted into the room, 
restrained, and monitored. Id.
    From July 2020 to January 2021, the federal government executed 
thirteen death row inmates pursuant to the 2019 Addendum.

D. 2021 Moratorium on Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and 
Procedures

    As noted above, the Attorney General issued a moratorium on federal 
execution during the pendency of three reviews. The first, and the 
subject of this Request for Information, is a review to ``assess the 
risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital.'' 
The review may also ``address any other relevant portion'' of the 2019 
Addendum. See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Moratorium on 
Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures (July 1, 
2021).
    As noted in the Attorney General's memorandum, although some 
medical experts have concluded that the use of pentobarbital may risk 
inflicting painful pulmonary edema, the Supreme Court found that this 
risk was insufficient ``to justify last-minute intervention by a 
Federal Court'' shortly before an execution was scheduled to occur. 
Barr v. Lee, 140 S. Ct. 2590, 2591 (2020) (per curiam). However, ``[a] 
risk need not meet the Court's high threshold for such relief, or 
violate the Eighth Amendment, to raise important questions about our 
responsibility to treat individuals humanely and avoid unnecessary pain 
and suffering.'' Memorandum from the Attorney General, Moratorium on 
Federal Executions Pending Review of Policies and Procedures (July 1, 
2021). To ensure that these considerations are taken into account, the 
Attorney General ordered this review.

III. Solicitation of Comments

    The Department of Justice requests information from individuals or 
organizations regarding the risk of pain and suffering associated with 
the use of pentobarbital and any other relevant portion of the 2019 
Addendum. To contribute effectively to this review, all commenters are 
encouraged to provide comments that are responsive specifically to the 
topics of this review.

    Dated: September 21, 2022.
Hampton Y. Dellinger,
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-20886 Filed 9-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-BB-P
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