Lethal injection pioneer talks about his influence on capital punishment

In 1977, Dr. Jay Chapman introduced a three-drug cocktail as a more humane alternative to existing execution methods. It later became standard practice across the United States. In spite of that, Chapman tells Time it was a “very, very minor blip” on the work that he did. “My purpose in Oklahoma was to establish a system for the investigation of human death,” he says, describing his involvement with lethal injections as a “pure sidelight.” Chapman also discusses his stance on capital punishment and the history behind the “Chapman’s Protocol” in a rare interview with Time.