Who performs a lethal injection in the U.S.? In some states, they're volunteers

Eight times, a medical team in an Idaho prison tried to establish an intravenous line to deliver a lethal injection to condemned inmate Thomas Creech. But their attempts failed, giving Creech an unsettling reprieve. The incident last week raised sharp questions, such as: Who serves on the medical team used for executions by the Idaho Department of Correction?

"They're all volunteers," Creech's attorney, Jonah Horwitz, said in a message sent to NPR, citing Idaho's execution protocol.

That detail may come as a surprise. But other states have similar arrangements — and in Idaho and elsewhere, it's also routine to protect the identities of people on an execution medical team.

Here's a rundown of questions about how lethal injections work in Idaho and other states that have recently carried