The Supreme Court agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injection at the end of September. Since then, at least 10 states have postponed executions in anticipation of the Court’s decision.

The debate centers not so much on the legality of lethal injection in general but on the type and amount of drugs used in the procedure. Opponents argue that the drug cocktail violates the 8th amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

The deadly drug cocktail is made up of three different substances: Sodium pentothal, a barbiturate which puts the inmate into a coma; Pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the muscles, including muscles of respiration; and Potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.

The problem with this cocktail, challengers claim, is that sodium pentothal is a very short acting drug and in certain cases it may wear off before the inmate has died. This would leave the person in a great amount of pain with the inability to cry out for more anesthesia since his or her muscles are paralyzed.

Supporters of the death penalty disagree that the procedure is painful, and emphasize that the average time to death with lethal injection is only 7-11 minutes. Though sodium pentothal is short-acting, the dose given to the inmates is so large and the body is so saturated with it that it has the ability to induce a coma lasting up to 60 hours. Supporters maintain that the drug could never wear off in less than 20 minutes.

On the University of Massachusetts campus, in a state that outlawed capital punishment in the 1980s, the response to this issue was mixed.

“I am completely for the death penalty and lethal injection. I feel if you are sentenced to the death penalty, you deserve whatever you get,” said Julie Wolvek, a sophomore communication major.

Josh Hilzenger, a freshman astronomy major, went even further.

“Lethal injection is probably the least painful form of execution,” he said. “I feel like if the criminal did something really bad, the type of death penalty that he receives should be even more severe.”

However, there were those on campus who were staunchly against lethal injection.

“I am opposed to the death penalty in all forms,” said junior food science major Lauren Placzek. “I would rather have the criminal rot in prison for the rest of their lives. I think death is too good for them.”

Tom N., a senior marketing major, disagreed for a different reason.

“Lethal injection definitely violates the 8th amendment,” he said. “We are already killing the person. It is cruel to put someone in so much pain and give them no way to cry out for relief. We are not savages, and there is no reason why we can’t execute our criminals in a painless way.”

Even if the Supreme Court decides that lethal injection is unconstitutional, there are those who do not think that the executions should be halted.

“It all comes down to states’ rights,” said UMass Republican Club President Brad DeFlumeri. “The individual states should have the ultimate decision in what form of execution they administer.”

Alana Goodman can be reached at [email protected].