AN ACT DESIGNATING DEATH BY LETHAL INJECTION AS THE METHOD OF CARRYING OUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 8177

Method of Execution
- Death penalty shall be carried out by lethal injection. (Section 1)
- The lethal injection must be sufficient to cause instantaneous death. (Section 1)
- All personnel involved in administering lethal injection shall be trained. (Section 1)
- The authorized physician of the Bureau of Corrections shall pronounce and certify the convict's death. (Section 1)

Time Frame for Execution
- Death sentence shall be carried out not earlier than one (1) year nor later than eighteen (18) months after the judgment has become final and executory. (Section 1)
- The President's executive clemency powers can be exercised at all times. (Section 1)

Coverage and Modification
- Persons already sentenced to death by electrocution or gas poisoning shall be covered by this Act, and their sentences shall be automatically modified to lethal injection. (Section 2)

Implementation
- The Secretary of Justice, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and the Bureau of Corrections, shall promulgate the implementing rules within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act. (Section 3)

Repealing Clause
- All laws, presidential decrees, issuances, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act are repealed or modified accordingly. (Section 4)

Effectivity
- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier. Publication shall not be later than ten (10) days after the approval thereof. (Section 5)