More than 170 prisoners, facing the death penalty, will begin receiving their sentence via lethal injection beginning June 27, according to Deputy Misister of Public Security, Dang Van Hieu.
More than 170 prisoners will face lethal injection from June 27
According to the deputy minister, since the law on execution concerning criminal cases has taken effect, on July 1, 2011, more than 500 prisoners have been handed the death sentence. At the present time, more than 170 of those have completed all legal procedures to carry out the punishment.
The official went on to say that, out of five facilities meant to carry out the procedure, three have been functionally installed and been peopled with fully qualified staff.
The full implementation of the project has almost been completed, the deputy minister said, adding, "We are confident of guaranteeing the successful execution of our reformed methods of the death penalty."
One change is that the actual drugs used for lethal injection are no longer allowed to be imported because of EU restrictions. The Ministry of Health, however, has taken steps to manufacture the drugs domestically.
The Ministry of Public Security along with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health have been requested to provide a sufficient supply of the drug mixture so as to be able to perform the required amount of executions, as well as provide guidance for technical procedures.
