What is "lethal injection"

n. A means of execution or of euthanasia in which a person is injected with a fatal dose of drugs.

Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing immediate death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide. It first renders the person unconscious, and then stops the breathing and heart, in that order.

Typically, three drugs are used in lethal injection. Sodium thiopental is used to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart.

First developed in the United States, it is now also a legal method of execution in China, Guatemala, Thailand and Vietnam. It was also used in Philippines until the country re-abolished the death penalty in 2006.

Lethal Injection is the fourth studio album by California-based rapper Ice Cube. Similar to the rapper's previous albums, it was a commercial hit, debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 215,000 copies sold in its first week. However, it was heavily criticized for what many saw as Cube's pandering to gangsta rap, and toning down of the socio-political content found on his earlier efforts. The album's standing has increased over time. It includes the popular singles; " You Know How We Do It", and the Funkadelic-sampling " Bop Gun (One Nation)", which became a staple on MTV.