Who was the first person executed by lethal injection in the United States?

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The first person executed by lethal injection in the United States was Charles Brooks. He was executed by the state of Texas on December 7, 1982, for the murder of a mechanic.1

The procedure used was based on a proposal by Oklahoma medical examiner Jay Chapman, which involved a three-drug sequence intended to anesthetize, paralyze, and stop the heart of the inmate. While lethal injection has since become the most common method of capital punishment in the U.S., its constitutionality under the Eighth Amendment has been the subject of significant legal debate, ultimately being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008.12