Abstract
An ethical dialogue. Dr Greg Bloche, a psychiatrist and professor at Georgetown University law school, and co-author of Breach of Trust, and Dr Balvir Kapihl, chief physician at the Virginia Department of Corrections, discuss the physician's role in a prisoner's final moments. Breach of Trust1, a recent report by a coalition of medical and human rights groups, argues that physicians who take part in executions are violating the fundamental ethical principles of medicine. Dr Kapihl has taken part in a dozen executions