Passages of the public version of the filing that identifies Doerhoff were blacked out, but the context left no doubt that Doerhoff is the person it credits with "development of execution procedures" and "placing and monitoring intravenous lines, monitoring levels of consciousness and making determinations of death" at Terre Haute.

How did Doerhoff get the federal job? It's not clear, but do you think this is a coincidence?

The U.S. attorney general at the time the government resumed the death penalty was John Ashcroft, the former Missouri governor and senator. Doerhoff, a surgeon from the Jefferson City, testified that he'd been involved with Missouri executions since 1989.

More on Dr. Doerhoff:

Over the course of Doerhoff’s testimony, Anders uncovered many significant details similar to those uncovered in other states. For instance, Doerhoff testified that executions in Missouri have taken place in the dark, an execution team working by flashlight, and that the execution team routinely consists of “nonmedical people.”

For most, the day of the execution is “the first time probably in their life they have picked up a syringe . . . so it’s a little stressful for them to be doing this.”

Doerhoff stated that he determined if an inmate being executed had been adequately anesthetized by observing the condemned’s face through a window, which others noted was obscured by partly opened blinds. He also told the court that he reduced by half the five grams of anesthetic he had been using after the pharmaceutical company supplying it started packaging it in smaller bottles, which made it tricky to get the five grams in a single syringe. When Anders asked if he used calculations to determine the quantities of drugs to administer, he replied, “Heavens, no.”

Later Anders asked, “Is any part of the execution procedure written down?” “I’ve never seen it.” “There’s no guide that you follow as you’re doing it?” “Absolutely not.”

[Source: The New York Times, The Needle and The Damage Done, 2/11/07]

One of the Terre Haute death row inmates who filed the pleading is James Roane Jr. I'll be checking his filing on PACER and report back if there are additional newsworthy details in it. While it's redacted in places, the AP says it's evident it's Doerhoff is the subject.

[hat tip: Sentencing Law and Policy]