Prisoners are able to decide their final meals. Male inmates are given a fresh shirt and pair of pants, while females are given a dress. Not all states are that nice, some require inmates to strip down of all outer clothing (how lethal injection works). Once the final meal has been eaten and they have showered and changed, the inmate can meet with a spiritual advisor as they wait in a deathwatch cell. After the inmate has entered the execution room a heart monitor, also called a electrocardiogram, is attached which will determine when the inmates heart has stopped beating and death has occurred (how lethal injection …show more content…
There is a machine that can perform the lethal injection but a few prisons in various states don’t trust that the machine won’t malfunction. The team of employees may wear hoods or stand behind a curtain to hide their identities from the condemned (how lethal injection works). Lethal injection is a five-step process. First the team will inject sodium thiopental, which send the inmate into a deep sleep so they don’t feel any pain. Second they inject a saline solution to flush out the intravenous line (how lethal injection works). Third they inject Pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the inmate’s diaphragm and lungs, preventing them from breathing. The team then injects another dose of the saline solution to clear the intravenous lines again, preparing for the final step. The last step includes a lethal dose of potassium chloride, which stops all heart functions and causes cardiac arrest (how lethal injection works). It only takes minutes for the patient to be declared legally dead after the last drug is injected. From the time the patient enters the chamber in which they will be executed, it normally takes five to eighteen minutes for the patient to be declared dead (how lethal injection