Competency to be executed and forced medication: Singleton v. Norris.

Abstract

Singleton v. Norris is a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals stating that forced psychotropic medication can be continued after the date of execution is set if the medication had been given previously to prevent the inmate from being dangerous in the prison setting under a Harper-type review. The defendant had argued that after the date of execution was set, it was no longer in his medical interests to continue the medication. In the decision, the majority held that the fact that an execution is in the offing does not alter the medical interests for which the medication had been prescribed, and physicians should just continue to treat the medical condition. This decision may raise ethics problems for physicians in such settings, because they may be in violation of the American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Ethics if the original override is dubious.