Use of BIS in Lethal Injection

The State of South Carolina has responded to the US District Court's ruling that a sufficiently medically trained person is present at execution by lethal injection to ensure that the prisoner is unconscious at the time of administration of the lethal doses of pancuronium and potassium, by adding BIS monitoring to its execution protocol.

In April this year, the state argued that "the BIS monitor can be employed and operated and values obtained, recorded, and interpreted by any health care providers experienced in using electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors, such as registered nurses, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians".