Who performs a lethal injection in the U.S.? In some states, they're volunteers

A file photo from 2008 shows a gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where inmates received lethal injections of drugs. Eight people were executed in Texas in 2023. The state policies mention a "drug team," who are not employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (Pat Sullivan/AP)

Eight times, a medical team in an Idaho prison tried to establish an intravenous line to deliver a lethal injection to condemned inmate Thomas Creech. But their attempts failed, giving Creech an unsettling reprieve. The incident last week raised sharp questions, such as: Who serves on the medical team used for executions by the Idaho Department of Correction?

"They're all volunteers," Creech's legal team said in a message sent to NPR, citing Idaho's execution protocol.