Lethal Injection State medical experts testified yesterday, at a federal court hearing on California's Lethal Injection process. An anesthesiologist who initially agreed to assist with the execution of murderer Michael Morales earlier this year, testified that he opted out because he didn't want to be labeled an executioner by the AMA, which has forbidden doctors from participating in executions. The witness added that it was unlikely, considering the dose of pain killer administered, that condemned murderers were conscious during the lethal injection process according to a San Francisco Chronicle story by Bob Egelko. Another article by Sacramento Bee reporter Claire Cooper discusses other evidnece presented by the state. Update: An AP story on the final day of the hearing is here.

Prison inmates who convert to Islam may become recuits for terrorism according to a story by Debra Saunders in today's Salem Statesman Journal. The story cites a George Washington University report on the radicalization of prison inmates entitled "Out of the Shadows" which is available here.