Resource: Beardslee v. Woodford

An appeal was filed to halt the execution of Donald Beardslee, arguing that one of the drugs used in the procedure, Pavulon, would paralyze and leave him unable to signal if he was in pain, violating Beardslee's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Death Penalty Focus filed an amicus brief arguing that the paralyzing drug forms a chemical curtain that prevents the First Amendment right of the media and the public to know whether the condemned man is in pain.