Lethal Injection
Inmates sentenced to lethal injection are secured to a table and two intravenous catheters are inserted. Three drugs are injected in stages. The first injection of sodium thiopental (a barbiturate general anesthetic) renders them unconscious, the next injection of pancuronium bromide (a muscle relaxant) stops their breathing, and the last potassium chloride solution stops their heart and they are executed [1]. The process leading up to death is monitored by an electrocardiogram, and the execution is usually completed in seven minutes.