May 8
The Life-Death Worlds of Sodium Pentobarbital
Join us for a conversation with Marcos Andrade Neves about his research on sodium pentobarbital and its use in state-sanctioned executions.
Lethal injections were introduced in the U.S. in 1977, turning pharmaceuticals like sodium pentobarbital into tools of punishment. Marcos’ research aims to explore the complex moral, socio-cultural, and politico-legal landscape surrounding the use of sodium pentobarbital in state-sanctioned executions and understand its role in the governance of life and death, challenging traditional views on pharmaceutical efficacy, safety, and the relation between care and violence. By framing sodium pentobarbital as a death-inducing technology and highlighting its connection with punishment and coerced death, Marcos aims to uncover the tensions and intersections that animate this moral economy, which disproportionately exposes certain bodies and groups to the risk of state-sanctioned executions.
Marcos is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Freie Universität in Berlin.
Sponsored by the SOAN department.