State’s head prison doctor resigns over executions

OLYMPIA — The head doctor of the Washington Department of Corrections has resigned to avoid an ethical conflict over a pending state execution.

Dr. Marc Stern told The Olympian newspaper that using doctors to prepare for an execution is unethical. He says the American Medical Association and the Society of Correctional Physicians back him up. They both oppose doctor involvement in executions.

Stern says the only way he could find to take himself out of the execution plan for convicted murdered Darold Ray Stenson was to resign.

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

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