Texas fights the FDA to get 1,000 vials to kill its 244 death row prisoners - mostly black and Hispanic, likely by torture

In an astonishing move, the Texas indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the FDA for an injunction to force the FDA to permit Texas the import of execution drugs that are not allowed for use in humans.

Where the effect of a drug in a human is not known, the use of a drug in a human, even for execution purposes, should be prohibited - as it can result in torture, in "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the 8th Amendment.

Importing a new drug is clearly federally regulated activity under interstate commerce.


While sodium thiopental is reportedly used in European countries for legal voluntary euthanasia, there are clear protocols as to dosages and conditions of administration of sodium thiopental for those purposes.

Moreover, autopsies of prisoners executed in the U.S. reportedly showed that concentrations of thiopental sodium in the bloodsteam of executed prisoners were insufficient to cause unconsciousness.

In other words, prisoners who were executed with the use of thiopental sodium, remained conscious and may have been subjected to torturous deaths, in violation of the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The standoff between the FDA and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is that TDCJ bought and had shipped 1000 vials of thiopental sodium to execute its condemned prisoners, these people who are mostly black and Hispanic.

Even though the Texas Attorney General tried to keep his lawsuit clinical, and not focus on the actual elephant in the room, the issue that the 1000 vials that the FDA held in detention since July of 2015 and ruled, in a preliminary ruling, that the 1000 vials labeled only as "thiopental sodium" and "for law enforcement purposes" are unapproved and mislabeled new drugs - are meant to kill 258 people.

I copied and analyzed the list of Texas death row inmates, and the "clinically sterile" analysis of Texas AG in his lawsuit seeking opportunity to kill off these people as fast as possible started to appear less than sterile.

Here is the gender and race distribution of people on the Texas death row list:

Out of 243 people currently on the Texas death row, there are 6 women and 237 men (2% of death row inmates), 3 white, 2 African American and 1 Hispanic.

Out of 237 men on the Texas death row, there are:

• 1 Asian;
• 105 African American (44% of men);
• 64 Hispanics (27% of men);
• 4 "other";
• 63 whites (27% of men)

So, here are racial proportions of populations in Texas as of 2010 Census:

• African American - 11.8%;
• Hispanic - 37.6%
• White non-Hispanic - 45.3%.

And here is the racial proportions on Texas death row - the people that Texas AG Ken Paxton pushes a federal court to allow him to allow him to kill of faster:

• African American - 44%;
• Hispanic - 27%; and
• White non-Hispanic - 27%

The proportion of African Americans on Texas death row is 4 times (!!) higher than the proportion of African Americans in the population of Texas.

The proportion of Hispanics are 30% (nearly 1/3) higher in the death row inmates than in the general population of Texas (27 constitutes 70% of 37.6).

And, the proportion of whites among the death row inmates is 41% lower (nearly 1/2) of the whites in the general population of Texas.

So, where the number of whites in the Texas death row list is nearly twice lower than their percentage in the state's population, while the number of African Americans is 4 times higher than their percentage in the state's population, the probability of getting a death sentence in Texas is 8 times higher for an African American than for a white.

And, of course, the prosecutor who seeks to kill off Texas' proof of racism in handing out death sentencing, is also white, here is his photo:

Age of condemned to death prisoners at the time of the offense

Racism is not the only problem with the Texas death row though.

Yet another problem is sentencing to death, and now trying to kill off, people who, by modern standards of many states, would not be considered mature enough to buy and drink alcohol - a lot of Texas death row inmates are young people between 18 and 21, and a lot are in their 20s.

There are 7 death row inmates in Texas who were condemned to death for committing their crimes at the age of 18:

The two far right columns I added to the Texas table.

In many states (New York one of them), people under 21 are not only not allowed to drink alcohol, but are also considered children for purposes of child support.

Note that, out of 7 18-year-old males condemned to death and still on death row in Texas - whom Ken Paxton pushes to kill off fast,

• only 1 (14%) are white;
• 2 (28%) are Hispanic; and
• the remaining 4 (58%) are black - indicating, if anything, no compassion in likely predominantly white juries to black teenagers, as opposed to white and Hispanic teenagers

These people, children who committed their crimes at the age of 18, have been on death row from 11 to 24 years by now, and Paxton still pushes to kill them off as fast as possible - before the U.S. Supreme Court comes around and pronounces the death penalty unconstitutional, as it has been done in all other civilized countries in the world.

Out of 15 19-year-old males (at the time of offense) condemned to death and still on death row in Texas:

999393	Offender Information	Braziel, Jr.	Alvin	3/16/1975	M	Black	8/9/2001	Dallas	9/21/1993	19	16
999137	Offender Information	Wardlow	Billy	11/25/1974	M	White	2/13/1995	Titus	6/14/1993	19	22
999291	Offender Information	Rocha	Felix	5/7/1976	M	Hispanic	12/16/1998	Harris	11/26/1994	19	19
999226	Offender Information	Guidry	Howard	4/15/1976	M	Black	4/16/1997	Harris	11/19/1994	19	20
999599	Offender Information	Hall	Paul	2/18/1993	M	Asian	10/9/2015	Brazos	10/20/2011	19	2
577	Offender Information	Earvin	Harvey	4/7/1958	M	Black	10/26/1977	Angelina	12/12/1976	19	40
999423	Offender Information	Davis	Irving	9/17/1982	M	Black	7/18/2002	El Paso	6/4/2001	19	15
999562	Offender Information	Robinson	Cortne	12/15/1990	M	Black	3/23/2011	Harrison	9/20/2009	19	6
999192	Offender Information	Melendez	Pablo	11/16/1975	M	Hispanic	5/21/1996	Tarrant	9/1/1994	19	21
999490	Offender Information	Ramirez	Juan	3/11/1984	M	Hispanic	12/23/2004	Hidalgo	1/5/2003	19	13
999319	Offender Information	Vasquez	Richard	4/17/1979	M	Hispanic	6/24/1999	Nueces	3/5/1998	19	18
999279	Offender Information	Murphy	Julius	10/25/1978	M	Black	8/18/1998	Bowie	9/19/1997	19	19
999558	Offender Information	Milam	Blaine	12/12/1989	M	White	6/11/2010	Rusk	12/2/2008	19	7
999590	Offender Information	Balderas	Juan	9/2/1986	M	Hispanic	3/25/2014	Harris	12/15/2005	19	3
999330	Offender Information	Haynes	Anthony	1/22/1979	M	Black	11/3/1999	Harris	5/22/1998	19	18

there are:

• 1 Asian;
• 2 whites;
• 5 Hispanics, and
• 7 African-Americans

who already served from 3 to 22 years on death row.

Out of 25 20-year old males (at the time of the offense) on the Texas death row:

999549	Offender Information	Broadnax	James	10/30/1988	M	Black	9/2/2009	Dallas	6/19/2008	20	8
999388	Offender Information	Woodard	Robert	6/17/1980	M	Black	6/20/2001	Harris	2/12/2000	20	16
999541	Offender Information	Norman	LeJames	11/26/1985	M	Black	12/12/2008	Jackson	8/24/2005	20	9
999144	Offender Information	Sheppard	Erica	9/1/1973	F	Black	4/25/1995	Harris	6/30/1993	20	22
999000	Offender Information	Brewer	Brent	5/26/1970	M	White	6/4/1991	Randall	4/26/1990	20	26
999420	Offender Information	Williams	Perry	9/22/1980	M	Black	6/25/2002	Harris	9/17/2000	20	15
999145	Offender Information	Ruiz	Roland	7/4/1972	M	Hispanic	5/4/1995	Bexar	7/14/1992	20	22
999544	Offender Information	Ramirez	John	6/29/1984	M	Hispanic	2/13/2009	Nueces	7/19/2004	20	8
928	Offender Information	Rivers	Warren	3/31/1967	M	Black	12/29/1988	Harris	5/3/1987	20	29
999498	Offender Information	Mendoza	Moises	1/26/1984	M	Hispanic	7/1/2005	Collin	3/18/2004	20	12
999379	Offender Information	Jones	Quintin	7/15/1979	M	Black	3/16/2001	Tarrant	9/11/1999	20	16
999519	Offender Information	Ramey	Ker'sean	6/4/1985	M	Black	1/31/2007	Jackson	8/24/2005	20	10
999411	Offender Information	Pruett	Robert	9/18/1979	M	White	4/30/2002	Bee	12/17/1999	20	15
999383	Offender Information	Howard	Jamaal	2/8/1980	M	Black	4/26/2001	Hardin	5/12/2000	20	16
999260	Offender Information	Tong	Chuong	10/21/1976	M	Other	4/1/1998	Harris	4/6/1997	20	19

there are:

• 1 "other";
• 2 (8%)  whites;
• 3 Hispanics and
• 19 (75%) African Americans

In this age group, there are 9.5 TIMES more African Americans than whites on Texas death row among the 20-year-olds, while there are 4 times more whites than African Americans in Texas population.

The perception that an African American young man is more guilty than a white young man in the same situation is apparently very strong amongst Texas trial juries that must necessarily represent the "cross-section" of the Texas population, in other words, with predominance of white jurors condemning black youths to death 19 times time more (in this age group) than white young men.

Age group 21-25 (at the time of offense) - out of 79 death row inmates:

• 1 "other";
• 19 whites;
• 22 Hispanics; and
• 37 African Americans

These people have served so far from 2 months (Amos Wells III, black, 23 at the time of offense) to 41 years (Raymond Riles, black, 25 at the time of offense) on death row.

Age group 20 to 30 - 121 death row inmates in Texas:

• 2 "others";
• 31 whites;
• 36 Hispanics; and
• 52 blacks

who have served so far on death row from 2 months to 41 years;

In the age group 30 to 40 (at the time of the offense) among 61 yet-unexecuted Texas death row inmates there are:

1 "other";

20 whites;

15 Hispanics, and

25 blacks

who have so far served on death row from 7 months to 33 years.

Age group 40 to 50 (at the time of offense) - out of 19 death row inmates:

• 4 Hispanics;
• 6 blacks, and
• 9 whites - the only age group where whites outnumber blacks, but still not in the same proportion as they appear in the population

Age group of 50 and over at the time of offense - out of 4 death row inmates there are:

• 1 white and
• 3 blacks

Now, when more and more questions arise as to mistakes and fraud of prosecutors who, shielded by "absolute prosecutorial immunity", drum and drum wrongful convictions - including death sentences - in order to climb higher in their careers, often towards judgeships, and when death penalty is abolished in all civilized countries but the U.S.,

Texas managed to get 1,000 vials to kill its 243 predominantly non-white death row inmates, a great number of among them - youngsters condemned to death at the time they are deemed by law not mature enough to buy and consume alcohol, and are considered children for purposes of child support in many states.

Why Texas urgently needs 1,000 vials to kill 243 inmates, while many of these inmates appeals are not yet exhausted, is a mystery that Ken Paxton did not explain in this lawsuit to the federal court.

But, it is clear that, with the recent finding by Lancet that when U.S. jurisdictions execute their condemned prisoners with thiopental sodium, the prisoners remain conscious throughout the execution, and thus are likely submitted to torture - in violation of the 8th Amendment.

Texas did not explain to the federal court,

• why it urgently needs 1,000, while it has only 243 death row inmates, and many of them still did not exhaust their appellate process; and
• what will be the procedure and dosage Texas will use for execution - because the procedure and dosage does not appear on the labeling.

It is interesting why the white Attorney General (recently indicted for fraud) pushes to kill off the predominantly non-white death row inmates, and what is the urgency for such government killing - other than the government tries to "race to the death chamber" ahead of opponents of the death penalty, and tries to execute people before the death penalty is officially declared unconstitutional, as it should have been done long time ago.

In any event, FDA in this case is in its own right not to allow import of a drug labeled only as "thiopental sodium", "for law enforcement purposes", a labeling that provides no indication whatsoever as to whether Texas is going to use the drug for execution, or for execution/slow torture of its inmates.

While concluding this article, I cannot shake the thought that, 100 years from now, when the death penalty will be, hopefully, long abolished, Ken Paxton's "clinical" plea to the court to stop the FDA from "interfering" with Texas' "lawful law enforcement procedures" will be read as it should be - with astonishment, horror and shame for our past.

Yet, now it is our present.

Which should be made out past - and there are 8 people on the U.S. Supreme Court who can do it any time, but still linger.

I wonder, why.