Megan McCracken and Jennifer Moreno write for The National Law Journal, April 27, 2015
To the extent the states’ actions can be explained by a common denominator, it is expediency. The actual “earnest desire” at work is not a more humane manner of death, but a different goal: to carry out executions without disruption. States design their execution procedures based on which drugs are available, not serious medical or scientific inquiry.