TALLAHASSEE, FLA. -- "How are prisoners on Florida’s death row and unwanted dogs and cats in a city pound alike? They are put to death using the same medication. Last month, the Florida Supreme Court ruled pentobarbital -- a barbiturate used most regularly to euthanize unwanted animals -- can be part of the lethal cocktail used to execute inmates.
Manuel Valle, 61 years old and a 33-year resident of Florida’s death row, is next in line to be put to death using pentobarbital.
Anti-death-penalty activists had hoped to stop Valle’s execution because they claim the use of pentobarbital is “cruel and unusual punishment” when used in lethal injections. They say that pentobarbital is unsafe and unreliable and that using the drug as the first part of a three-drug combination would risk needless pain and suffering for the condemned.
Valle was convicted of killing a Miami police officer in 1978. Florida’s new attorney general, Pam Bondi, is determined to see his sentence carried out. Valle’s death warrant was the first signed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott when he took office in January.
Valle has had several stays of execution since August. His latest execution date is set for Sept. 28..."
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As inmate faces execution Wednesday, questions of guilt remain [
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