Some doctors may personally support the death penalty, but in Napa and throughout California, the debate over whether they can ethically play a role in putting condemned inmates to death took center stage this week.

When a court ordered that a lethal dose of barbiturates be administered to condemned killer Michael Morales by medical professionals, two anesthesiologists refused, and the execution at San Quentin was put on indefinite hold. The decision by the two doctors, who were not identified, is staunchly defended by Dr. Ardith Courtney, president of the Napa County Medical Society.

"Doctors are healers, not executioners," she said Wednesday. "It is up to the judicial system to carry out the decision of the courts and the people."

The Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors virtually forbids taking human life, and has been cited by physicians who feel it is immoral for a physician to actively participate in the ending of a life.

According to Maryann Eckhout, executive director of the Napa County Medical Society, the California Medical Association believes taking part in an execution is not illegal for doctors, but it is unethical. The CMA has for decades sought to end physician participation in capital punishment, and has sought legislation banning such action by physicians and other health care professionals.

A CMA position paper states, "A physician is dedicated to preserving life and should not participate in a legally authorized execution."

Morales was sent to California's death row for torturing, raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl a quarter of a century ago. The case has renewed the legal and ethical debate over the proper role of doctors in executions and the suitability of the lethal injection method used in California and 36 other states.

It was a legal challenge to the method of putting condemned prisoners to death that led to the halting of the Morales execution this week.

Assistant Napa County District Attorney Lee Philipson says he does not agree with defense attorneys who claimed lethal injection is inhumane.

"It does not compare to thousands of volts of electricity, or hanging, or gas where (the prisoner) bleeds to death internally," he said in comparing the practice to those used in past years.

"Personally, I believe (capital punishment) should remain the law of California," he said. "There are certain individuals who just don't deserved to live. They show a lack of feeling for (other) humans. They present such an incredible danger to us all, inside (prison) as well."

He said it has been decades since there was a capital punishment case in Napa County. However the charges against Napa resident Eric Copple -- who is facing trial in the killing of two women in West Napa in November of 2004 -- could make him eligible for the death penalty.

"(The death penalty) is certainly on the table," in the Copple case, said Philipson, "but no decision has been made."

While a majority of Californians, according to polls, support the death penalty, there is organized opposition locally.

"The death penalty keeps the spotlight on the murderer," offered Janis Gay of St. Helena, who serves on the board of the wine country chapter of Death Penalty Focus.

She said when a killer is imprisoned without the possibility of parole, the victim's family can begin the healing process earlier. Most people sentenced to die do not meet the executioner for more than 20 years.

Money saved by imprisonment rather than execution, she said, can be used for victim family services.

The organization was originally known as Napa Citizens for a Death Penalty Moratorium, but recently merged with Death Penalty Focus, headed by actor Mike Farrell.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.