The first execution by lethal injection took place on August 6th.

After a period of preparation, this morning, August 6, 2013, for the first time, Vietnamese authorities carried out the death penalty using a new method: lethal injection.

According to PetroTimes' exclusive sources: The first death row inmate to be executed using the new method is Nguyen Anh Tuan (born in 1986, from Me Linh, Hanoi - Prison number: 2757A1).

On the morning of August 6th, Nguyen Anh Tuan was taken to the execution site at the Hanoi Police Detention Center, where all procedures were completed and he received three injections of lethal drugs: anesthetic; drugs to paralyze the nervous system and muscles; and drugs to stop the heart.

Nguyen Anh Tuan (center) during his trial in court.

By 10:00 AM, the execution was completed. The body of death row inmate Nguyen Anh Tuan will be handed over to his family for burial.

Nguyen Anh Tuan was sentenced to death by the Hanoi People's Court on January 20, 2010, for two charges: "murder" and "robbery."

Previously, Nguyen Hai Hoan, an accomplice in the case, committed suicide in prison before being brought to trial.

The victim of the two killers was Bui Thi Nguyet, born in 1981, an employee at a gas station. Around February 2009, Nguyen Hai Hoan and Nguyen Anh Tuan met the victim through a friend. After going out a few times, Tuan learned that Nguyet often kept a lot of money in her wallet, which she kept in the trunk of her motorbike, so he planned to rob her. To carry out their plan, Tuan and Hoan conspired to bring flowers to the girl on March 8th to win her favor. Nguyet happily accepted the flowers, and two days later she went for coffee with Tuan and Hoan.

Three people were traveling together on a motorbike to a coffee shop. On the way, Hoan suddenly threatened the girl with a knife to her neck, tied her hands with rope, and searched her, taking her phone and 400,000 VND from her wallet. After a while, Ms. Nguyet asked to be untied to go to the restroom. Hoan then unexpectedly stabbed her repeatedly in the back from behind. Tuan assisted by covering the victim's mouth while Hoan stabbed her to death. They then dumped the girl's body into a nearby pond. Nguyen Anh Tuan was arrested on June 21, 2009.

The place where the sentence was carried out is within the Hanoi Police Detention Center.

According to a resolution of the National Assembly, from July 1, 2011, Vietnam applied only one method of executing death sentences: lethal injection.

According to regulations, the drugs used for executions include: anesthesia; paralysis of the nervous system and muscles; and cardiac arrest. These three types of drugs are supplied by the Ministry of Health at the request of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense. Before being injected with lethal drugs by an automated machine, death row inmates are allowed to write letters and record their last words...

However, in reality, the execution agencies are still unable to carry out lethal injection for death row inmates due to insufficient preparation of the necessary facilities.

There are currently over 560 death row inmates nationwide. Of these, approximately 170 are eligible for execution by lethal injection.

Previously, the Ministry of Public Security had implemented and issued procedures and trained criminal execution teams within the police and military forces to apply the new form of death penalty execution. Currently, many execution facilities have been built in Hanoi, Son La, Nghe An, Dak Lak, and Ho Chi Minh City…

The difficulty we face is the supply of lethal injection drugs for death row inmates. Standard drugs are not produced domestically and must be imported from abroad through strict procedures, resulting in very high prices.

After overcoming numerous difficulties, this morning, August 6, 2013, the first execution by lethal injection was carried out.

According to Petrotimes - TH