More or less lethal
Two of Tennessee's Department of Corrections' top officials were fired after a report found that drugs used in its lethal injections were not properly tested for contaminants.* Really?
I guess it comes down to a matter of following established procedures. But, given that the death penalty is meted out to the worst criminals and that the injection is a terminal procedure
from which recovery is not envisaged, it's a little like crossing the i
s and dotting the t
s.
The BBC's Madeline Halpert describes Debra Inglis as the department's head lawyer
. The punishment might seem a little disproportionate for someone in such a position. According to the report, however, she was not only general counsel, but also deputy commissioner; so probably the department's highest officer given that there was no commissioner at the time. The buck's gotta stop somewhere, I guess.
* Specifically endotoxins, according to the report from Butler Snow LLP. Sterility and potency—arguably the most important characteristic—were tested.