Missouri is one of 27 states that permit the death penalty. Since 1989, the state has executed 102 people.
In October, Lance Shockley became the first person Missouri executed in 2025 and Gov. Mike Kehoe’s first execution as governor. Shockley died by injection for the 2005 murder of a state trooper. He maintained his innocence.
Lethal injection is far and away the most common method states use to execute the death penalty. On the surface, it appears to be more humane than electrocution or other methods, but a deeper look into the practice shows it’s often tainted with error, ineptitude and secrecy that has led to many botched executions and unnecessary suffering.
University of Richmond law professor and death penalty scholar Corinna Barrett Lain’s debut book, “Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection,” explores the secretive world of lethal injection in Missouri and throughout the U.S.
One of the more striking stories from Lain’s book is about Dr. Alan Doerhoff, Missouri’s chief executioner from 1995 to 2006. Doerhoff had more than 20 medical malpractice charges filed against him. He claimed to be dyslexic and claimed the condition caused him to confuse dosages for lethal injection drugs.
Doerhoff’s identity was revealed in 2008 by St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jeremy Kohler. Soon after, Missouri passed a secrecy statute that is still in place today. The statute protects the identity of those involved in lethal injection.
“It's quite telling that, in the wake of this scandal, what does the Missouri legislature do? It passes a statute that says it is unlawful for anyone to reveal the identity of a current or past executioner,” Lain said.
Missouri was also involved in the use of compounding pharmacies to obtain its lethal injection drugs and several other controversies.
In the book’s epilogue, Lain focuses on the story of Brian Dorsey, whom Missouri executed in 2024 despite 60 Missouri Department of Corrections officers and staffers urging mercy.
Lain said Dorsey’s story stuck with her because Dorsey, who lived in the prison’s honor dorm and cut the hair of inmates and corrections officers, was not the same person he was when he committed murder.
She said her research gave her “a front-row seat to see who these people are at the end.”
Lain said everyone, including people who support the death penalty, should read this book.
“It's not a book where I make an argument and try to convince you that I'm right,” Lain said. “It's a book where I relentlessly document what states are doing in the people's name, and I think it would be hard to walk away from reading this book and feel that the state could be trusted with that awesome responsibility.”
"Secrets of the Killing State" is available now.
To hear Corinna Barrett Lain go further into depth about Missouri’s lethal injection problems and controversies, including spending $11,000 on drugs from a compounding pharmacy, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
