The Lethal Injection "Challenge": The Social Construction of Alternative Methods of Execution

• In Event: Roundtable: Media

Abstract

Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in the United States. For decades, lethal injection was portrayed as a "humane" and medicalized method of execution. However, recent issues with obtaining lethal injection drugs, botched executions such as those of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma (2014) and Joseph Wood in Arizona (2014), and concerns about the cruelty of lethal injection have prompted some states to turn toward alternative methods of execution. This project uses qualitative thematic analysis of media articles since 2014 to explore how this movement toward alternative methods is socially constructed, with a particular focus on those states that have recently updated their laws/policies surrounding methods of execution. This study examines how lethal injection has been re-framed by the media and claimsmakers as well as how other methods of execution are currently being framed, particularly in terms of justice and cruelty.

Author

• Jennifer Stevens, Eastern Illinois University