Midazolam ( /mɪˈdæzəlæm/, marketed in English-speaking countries under the trade names Dormicum,Hypnovel, and Versed, is a short-acting drug in the benzodiazepine class developed by Hoffmann-La Roche in the 1970s. The drug is used for treatment of acute seizures, moderate to severe insomnia, and for inducing sedation and amnesia before medical procedures. It possesses profoundly potent anxiolytic, amnestic, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, skeletal muscle relaxant, and sedative properties. Midazolam has a fast recovery time and is the most commonly used benzodiazepine as a premedication for sedation; less commonly it is used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. Flumazenil, a benzodiazepine antagonist drug, can be used to treat an overdose of midazolam, as well as to reverse sedation. However, flumazenil can trigger seizures in mixed overdoses and in benzodiazepine-dependent individuals, so is not used in most cases.

Administration of midazolam by the intranasal or the buccal route (absorption via the gums and cheek) as an alternative to rectally administered diazepam is becoming increasingly popular for the emergency treatment of seizures in children. Midazolam is also used for endoscopyprocedural sedation and sedation in intensive care. The anterograde amnesia property of midazolam is useful for premedication before surgery to inhibit unpleasant memories. Midazolam, like many other benzodiazepines, has a rapid onset of action, high effectiveness and low toxicity level. Drawbacks of midazolam include drug interactions, tolerance, and withdrawal syndrome, as well as adverse events including cognitive impairment and sedation.Paradoxical effects occasionally occur, most commonly in children and the elderly, particularly after intravenous administration.

Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. 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 kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, and then stopping the breathing and heart in that order.

Lethal injection gained popularity in the twentieth century as a form of execution intended to supplant other methods, notably electrocution, hanging, firing squad, gas chamber, and beheading, that were considered to be more painful. It is now the most common form of execution in the United States of America.

The concept of lethal injection as a means of putting someone to death was first proposed on January 17, 1888, by Julius Mount Bleyer, a New York doctor who praised it as being cheaper than hanging. Bleyer's idea, however, was never used. The British Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1949–53) also considered lethal injection, but eventually rejected it after pressure from the British Medical Association (BMA).