http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/12/1221
Why and how physicians participate in executions. Atul Gawande describes some botched executions, interviews four physicians and a nurse who have participated, and ultimately argues that—even though he himself does not have a problem with the death penalty—if there’s no way to perform executions without the involvement of medical professionals, they shouldn’t be conducted at all.