Wash. prison doctor resigns over executions

The head doctor of the Washington Department of Corrections says two professional groups support his decision to resign rather than be involved in an execution because of medical ethics.

Dr. Marc Stern told The Olympian newspaper that using doctors to prepare for an execution is unethical, adding that the American Medical Association and the Society of Correctional Physicians oppose doctor involvement in executions.

Stern says the only way he could find to take himself out of the execution plan for convicted murderer Darold Ray Stenson was to resign. The execution had been scheduled for December but has been postponed for at least three months.

Stern supervised about 700 people in prisons and other corrections facilities statewide. He said at least one of the people he supervised had been involved in execution preparations at the Washington State Penitentiary near Walla Walla.

He told his superiors that he objected to his division's involvement in execution preparations, but no solution was found, he said.

Scott Blonien, assistant secretary of the department, characterized Stern' objections as more individual than professional.

"It's clear to us that Marc had a personal, ethical conflict, and we respect that. There's nothing we would want to do in the department to cause someone to commit a violation of their personal ethics," Blonien said.

All Corrections Department employees who take part in an execution do so on a voluntary basis, he said.

No other department worker has resigned or complained about the pending execution, although outside groups have protested it, Blonien said.

"The department understands that some people have some strong personal, philosophical issues with regards to the death penalty," he said. "Folks have the option of opting out."

Stern wasn't with the agency last time an execution was conducted in Washington, the lethal injection of James Homer Elledge on Aug. 28, 2991, and his position expanded three years ago to include administrative authority over health workers, he said. In previous executions, penitentiary medical staff reported to the prison superintendent.

Stern said the ethical conflict isn't personal.

"This has nothing to do with my personal opinion of the death penalty. It has strictly to do with the recognized professional ethics," he said.

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Information from: The Olympian, http://www.theolympian.com