CE Week #5: “Lethal injection review may halt US executions”
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Saturday September 29, 2007
Guardian
America, which has some 3,350 prisoners on death row, yesterday seemed to be moving towards an unofficial moratorium on executions after the supreme court granted a rare last-minute reprieve to a condemned man in Texas.
The supreme court stay for Carlton Turner Jr, who was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection for killing his adoptive parents, arrived hours after a death row inmate in Alabama was granted a 45-day reprieve by the state’s governor.
Opponents of the death penalty said the moves suggested there would be a lull in executions while the supreme court reviews lethal injection, the method for dispatching prisoners in all but one of the 38 states which impose the death penalty.
“I think this is a sign that maybe all executions are going to be put on hold aside from those who might volunteer, or who don’t raise the issue of the lethal injection method,” said Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Centre.
In its order on Thursday the supreme court offered no explanation for Turner’s reprieve. However, his lawyers had based their appeal entirely on likening lethal injection to a “chemical straitjacket”.
The court is expected to hear arguments next January on whether lethal injection, a cocktail of three drugs, represents cruel and unusual punishment and is therefore unlawful. The challenge is on behalf of two condemned men in Kentucky, Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr, who argued in their 2004 suit that they would suffer excruciating pain in the moments before death, but would be unable to cry out because of the immobilising effects of one of the drugs in the injection.
The supreme court’s consideration of lethal injection also follows a number of botched executions.
Its decision, expected to arrive by June 2008, would have broad implications. Most of the 37 states using lethal injection use the same drugs as in Kentucky.
In recent months 11 states have suspended executions because of concerns about the cruelty of lethal injection.
However, a spokesman for Amnesty International said it was too early to say whether America was moving towards a “creeping moratorium” on executions. Texas, which operates the busiest execution chamber, appears resistant to a slowdown. The state executed a prisoner hours after the supreme court announced its review – before lawyers for the condemned man could prepare an appeal.
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The death penalty has come so far, from shooting, hanging and electrocuting to now lethal injection. The death penalty has been around for some time but has always been a problem, along with things like abortion and gay marriage. In the constitution is bans cruel and unusual punishment, but how to we know if lethal injection in cruel and unusual, the people die. I kind of believe that some people, the ones commit the absolutely horrible or multiple murders and such, deserve the death penalty even if it is cruel and unusual. However; I can see how this would not go over well with other people. Like the article said, “In recent months 11 states have suspended executions because of concerns about the cruelty of lethal injection.”, this kind of shows that a lot of people around the country are viewing this as a negative thing anymore and not as a way of punishment. A while ago I read an article that talked about how the states that have banned the death penalty actually have a lower crime and murder rate than the states that have it for a punishment. It also talked about how most of the crimes that would be able to have capital punishment as a sentence, happened mostly in the south. This was kind of intriguing to me. Altogether capital punishment is not something to be fooled around with. It deals with life and death, even if it’s with the lives of people who have already ruined others lives.
The death penalty has definitely changed over time. I’m not aware of the effects of the drugs that are used for execution; therefore, I cannot say whether lethal injection is an efficient way of killing someone. “The challenge is on behalf of two condemned men …argued in their 2004 suit that they would suffer excruciating pain in the moments before death, but would be unable to cry out because of the immobilizing effects of one of the drugs in the injection.” To me this sounds like cruel and unusual punishment, however, electrocuting someone sounds just as horrible, if not worse that this method. I do not think that the death penalty should be something that tortures a person even though they were the ones in the wrong in the first place. I think that the idea of living with what you have done is torture enough. Killing someone in a cruel way doesn’t seem necessary to me. I’m not sure if I’m for or against the death penalty. For me I would have to look at the situation and determine whether or not death is the appropriate sentence. Either way it is going to be painful to die and I almost think that the lethal injection would be better than the electrical chair, but then again how would I know? It sounds like Tx. doesn’t seem to care how people go as long as they are punished for their crimes and according to this article it sounds like more of the southern states are for lethal injection. Life is something that should be taken seriously and if that means slowing down the execution process to make sure the right punishment it carried through than maybe an execution slowdown would be good. I certainly do not feel sorry for these people if they are guilty of horrible crimes, but I do not think that we should use cruel and unusual punishment. To me that just seems like we are committing a crime just as bad.
I think that Shauna is right. I think that if there is something wrong with the death penalty they should try to make it more humane because the less humane it is the more and ore you are like the person that you are putting to death. I also think that this is a topic that is just going to be brought up over and over because how can you put someone to death peacefully? It is darn near imposable. I also think that this is something that is just going to get blown way out of proportion because how do you know if it is painful? Have you asked someone who they have don’t it on? I also think that is was very very interesting that most of the capital punishment was in the south because that to me is what I think of when I think of the death penalty, I think of all of the southern states for some odd reason. I just think that no matter what you are never going to make everyone happy by the way that you put people to death so why try, if it is effective why should they get to be peaceful, because they causes some family some were very bad hurt.
The timely lethal injection case could appease 37 states practicing the death penalty or anger the millions of Americans who deem the execution as necessary to punish criminals. Certainly the potential suffering poses questions as to the constitutionality of lethal injection, as Shauna and Tiara asserted. Whether or not lethal injection is actually cruel or not, the practice should not continue without further investigation into the patient’s experience. To take a life in exchange for another seems like elementary logic, extending beyond simple punishment. The question becomes whether a crime of greater magnitude deserves more consequnce… Never should this extended sentence infringe upon one’s existence, however. The evolution of death penalty procedures possibly betters the case for its continuation, but even so, the ethical charges against lethal injection cannot be wished away though they may be debated to the death.
I agree with Tiara that life is something to be taken seriously and that it’s worth investigating the death penalty further to decide whether it is humane or not. I also agree with Christine that giving a painful death sentence makes the executioners more like the criminals themselves. However, I fear that something like this being brought up might abolish the death penalty totally. This is one of the few issues where I am completely conservative, but I honestly believe that the death penalty should be KEPT, no matter what, for multiple murder and sex offenses. It’s the government’s duty to protect its people and I think the death penalty helps do just that, especially if serious/repeated sex offenders were added to the list of criminals eligible for death as punishment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I do not oppose the release of prisoners (even ones on death row) if reasonable evidence is brought up after the case that proves the verdict incorrect and the criminal innocent. Like Tiara said, human life isn’t something to be taken lightly.
And a small note to Shauna, I doubt that rates of criminal activity and whether or not the state condones the death penalty correlate. Is there any possibility you can send me the link to that article?
Personally, I agree with what a most everyone has said, that the death penalty and lethal injection are a very touchy topic. One of the things that I find really interesting, though, is that in many states hanging, shooting, electrocution, as well as lethal injection still exists. In fact, in Washington the two methods of capital punishment are lethal injection and hanging. So why is it that lethal injection is being cornered for being cruel and unusual punishment? Obviously, like Shauna and others have said, we really can never know if it is cruel or not because the people die. However, I think that it is odd to think of lethal injection as cruel since the criminal dies within seconds.
Part of the reason I think though that many states have been staying executions lately is because of the Supreme Courts decision to consider the cases of two Kentucky death row inmates. From what I have read the Court would only consider lethal injection and not the Constitutionality of the death penalty itself. Realistically, I don’t think the courts would outlaw lethal injection though because first of all, they are only looking at the specific drugs used now and second of all, it is by-far the most humane—at least in my opinion. In the end though, it is a very sensitive topic that will have to be addressed at some point.
Lindsey Devaney
“botched executions”? Woah, two words that should never go together. If lethal injection turns out to be extremely painful for recipiants, then it violates the constitition. And if it violates the constitution, then it should end (no matter what certain large, southern state says). To me, it’s as simple as that. Now the question of whether the death penalty is ethical or not is an entirely different subject. The ability to take someones life just seems like an awful lot of power to give the government personally, but how else would you deal with criminals like John Wayne Gacy? I agree with Skye that lethal injection should cease until investigated further, especially if there is a possibility of a ‘botched execution’. I also agree with Christine that it will be extremely hard a way to prematurely end someone’s life that won’t be painful. Personally, I have reservations about the death penalty because, well, it’s a matter of life and death.
When it comes to the death penalty, I really could not care much less if lethal injection is “cruel and unusual” punishment. The inmates who are on death row are there for a reason. They are sick and twisted individuals who committed disgusting crimes. Why the heck should we worry about the level of pain (if any) they feel when they are being put to death? I somehow doubt that a chemical injection could be that much worse than, say, having an ax swung into your body 20-30 times. I am a supporter of the death penalty only because I don’t think that a life sentence to your typical prison is “punishment enough.” Why should I have to pay to clothe, feed, and put a roof over the head of the man/woman who brutally raped and murdered the family down the street (sorry if that creates too graphic an image…) My only beef with the death penalty is, of course, making sure the man who is put on death row is actually guilty of the crime. In the past, there have been cases where the wrong person is strapped to the table… And there is no fixing a mistake like that. If it is 99.999999999999999999%, or 100% for that matter, sure that a person is guilty, I have no problem with the death penalty as a punishment for certain crimes. It’s one less scumbag off the Earth… therefore, I going to have to “disagree” with Shauna and Christine when they say that we need a more “humane” way of going about the death penalty. We rarely practice any “outdated” forms of execution and if that still isn’t humane enough for you, we could always convert to Cuba’s method… the firing squad. A lethal injection review? Oh please.
“If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call.”
- John McAdams (Marquette University/Department of Political Science, on deterrence)
If you still aren’t convinced, pay this site a visit and read the first page.
http://www.prodeathpenalty.com
I completely agree with Tiara. I don’t see the point in making a lethal injection painful. It’s true that the death penalty has changed over time whether it is by electric chair, hanging, or whatever else, it seems as though the death penalty is a little cruel no matter how you look at it. It says in the Constitution that any law or power not directed immediately to the National Government goes straight to the State Governments. Well, death penalty and how it is used would be one of these rules. It seems as though many states are against cruel and unusual punishment for the death penalty, which would only make sense. But then again, states such as Tx are all for killing those convicted no matter how it gets done.
I personally believe in the death penalty, but it seems that some of the ways are quite unnecessary. We can’t prove that lethal injection is painful, considering I don’t know anybody who is willing to take it to find out it does hurt, and dies anyways. I do believe that some people do deserve the death penalty, but then again, wouldn’t seem more just if they had to “suffer” in jail or prison for the crimes they committed rather than being put on death row immediately? All in all it’s a personal opinion for everyone, which may change for every crime and criminal.
Christine, I do not agree with what you say about the death penalty needing to be more humane. Why would you kill someone, who brutally killed or harmed a person, nicely? The person being executed should be killed in the most horrific way possible. It should be a long and painful death and they should be able to feel themselves hurt, as did the person they bestowed their “humane” act upon. At the very least, that is what a guilty death row inmate deserves. And lethal injection hardly seems torturous. The convicted person savagely and disgustingly took the life of a person and forever ruined a family. I am also guessing that the family of the convicted murder or whatnot is not overly proud of their relative… Hopefully they would understand the plight of the grieving family and take into account their loss. The death penalty, when used in 100% accurate trials, is the only way to get rid of the bad in society. Putting them in jail keeps them off the streets momentarily, and then they are out killing again. Or if they serve a life sentence, they get to at least still live. We pay for their food and clothes and their shelter. That is ridiculous. If I had it my way I would say make them suffer the same pain and agony that they put their victims through. Make the process slow and painful so they have a chance to think about what they did right before they black out… forever.
I do believe that there should be a death penalty. Its just that the extremely long process that takes the prisioners from death row to actually been given the death penility I don’t agree with. Many prisioners die in prision while waiting for their time to receive the death penility. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that life is a very presious thing that should be taken very seriously. But at the same time, its the governments duty to take care of its citizens by killing the ones responsible. After all, just having the offenders stay in prision is just a waist of tax pairs money, so why have them wait so long on death row when they have already been sentenced to death?
I agree with Frances. While the issues of whether or not the death penalty should be more humane are certainly valid I don’t think that Christina’s point that the death penalty, if harsh, makes the executioner more like the criminal; there are many other jobs in which killing people is done as part of the job, a solider for instance. However I don’t think research needs to be done on how humane or inhumane lethal injections are, I don’t see the point…
Keeping the death penalty, as Frances stated, is a must and there’s no way that simply keeping someone in jail for their whole life would rectify them killing another human being. As several of the girls said, the families suffered and they deserve this as restitution for the killers actions. I also whole-heartedly agree with Frances that repeat sex criminals should be added to the list of possible people to be put to death. It’s disgusting that in our society you get more jail time (in general) for selling drugs (not I’m not saying drugs are alright to sell) than you do for raping a child.
The death penalty will always be very controversial for many reasons and I think that it will be interesting to see where the methods used to carry it out will evolve.
I find it funny that we wait whether or not lethal injection hurts or not. The other ways of execution practice in the United States are death by shooting, hanging, or electricity. None of those I could ever imagine are a painless procedure. In fact, they sound very painful! Although we know for a fact that these procedures ARE painful for the recipients, I don’t think that the fact that lethal injection might hurt should be a factor to consider. Either way, we’ll end up killing them in a painful fasion. Some people believe that we should not have the death penalty whatsoever. However, I do believe that it is very necessary for our government. A criminal that has been sentenced to death is most likely not sorry for what they have done. If they had another chance, they would probably try to kill again. Sure, we have big prisons that can hold criminals for a long, long time but we have a lot of criminals. Sometimes we can pardon them, but sometimes we cannot. Those who are truly dangerous make it far difficult for us to pardon them. A criminal who is a constant danger and whom we must constantly watch should not be around. While we watch him, he spends our tax money and our space, in which we could be using for many other things. Also, the death penalty holds a certain fear in power in which keeps criminals from going too far. In conclusion, the death penalty and the lethal injection should not be ban. After all, not all people repent.
In most cases I am opposed to the death penalty. There really is no “humane” way to kill off a human being, even if he is a brutal serial killer who has himself taken the lives of others. I always assumed lethal injection was the most “humane” form of the death penalty in comparison to other methods such as hanging and electric chair, but according to this article even that leaves the felon in a state of extreme pain just before their death. Yes, the person more often then not definitely deserves the punishment for their crimes, but in America is that what we do with our criminals? Frankly, our nation should be creative enough to really find better ways to punish our hard criminals. I personally don’t have any ideas, but I am sure there are some government officials who are just conniving enough to think of a better way to get back at criminals then simply kill them off. And by not sentencing criminals with the death penalty, it leaves the case open for new evidence if the criminal has been falsely accused. I hate hearing of those cases of a man being given the death penalty, and then after the sentence has been carried out it is found he was innocent. And one innocent man being killed by the death penalty is far worse than 100 guilty men not being given the death penalty.
I too, like FDinger am very conservative about the Death penalty. I think that we need to have a way to let criminals know that they can not just get away with doing a terrible crime like killing someone and not recieving death in turn. If we do not get rid of some of these people then our streets won’t be safe and jails will get full and all sorts of stuff. I also completly agree with FDinger that all criminals that have enough evidence supporting them should be released because it obviously means that they didn’t do it. I don’t understand why the courts have to decide if the death penalty is cruel or not. If you kill, you will be killed. Eye for an eye. And if it painful, who cares. I’m sure that what they did wasn’t painless for the victims they commited the crime to. And certainly not the families and friends who cared and loved for that person or persons.
I disagree with Frances in that the death penalty should be kept. The premise of death as punishment is in itself cruel and unusual. Also, I don’t believe that death is justifiable by any means. While these crimes are definitely disgusting and wrong on all levels, death is not the way to go. We should keep these criminals locked up rather than by killing them. Killing them doesn’t teach anybody anything, and while some of these offenders may be impossible to cure, we should not solve the problem by just disposing of them. For one, I believe there are many inmates on death row that could be cured. Also, as a previous article said this summer, there are people who aren’t completely responsible for their crimes who have been given the death penalty, or even worse, there are people who are innocent who have been sentenced to death.
The main reason for my belief that the death penalty is wrong is that the death penalty spreads hate and anger. We have the mentality in America that every negative action requires retaliation, as is the case here, when really, retaliation tends to only worsen the problem. It will definitely be hard to break the mentality that retaliation is a necessary means to get things done.
Overall, the death penalty clogs up the justice system, and feeds this “eye for an eye” mentality in our country, which I think is unnecessary.
I don’t know a whole lot about lethal injection, but I don’t see a point in it being reviewed at all. The amount of time you have to feel excruciating pain before you die is almost non-existent. Anyways, whats the point in torturing someone before they die? It just doesn’t make sense. If anything should be put under review, it should be the electric chair, or any other method for that matter. The victim of an electric chair must be doused in water before he is electrocuted. In one case the criminal wasn’t wet at all. He was electrocuted and then proceeded to burst into flame in one of the most inhuman death penalties recorded. Lethal injection is guaranteed to succeed every single time. Unlike Brian, and others in this forum, I believe that the death penalty should be enforced. If someone kills they should be deemed dangerous and should not continue to live or just be imprisoned. Any ways solitary confinement for life is torture, whereas death is not torture.
The death penalty gets rid of those that kill, or keeps those who might kill from killing. It’s not quite eye for an eye if your simply reaping what you sowed.
Lethal injections should not be put on hold and should not be questioned. This is because the criminals who are receiving the penalty have obviously been found to be too dangerous to be let go and to remain in prison. The pain that they feel when being injected, well no one will truly be able to prove occurs and should not be the reason to suspend lethal injections. For this method of the death penalty is the least painful and inhumane of all the other methods. Whether is from the electric chair, to hanging and to death by a fire squad, the death penalty is needed.
My belief on why the death penalty is needed is because there are individuals that do not belong in society and are just pure evil. Instead of having the taxpayers pay for a lifetime in prison, they need to be put to death. I feel this way because they give nothing back to the world and are more burdens then good. I am not saying that just because a person does not give back they should be killed, but that those who will murder and take lives without even blinking an eye need to be rid of.
Well I think this court case will definitely be an interesting one. It is something that I believe needs to be addressed. Do we really know if lethal injection is painful or if the person recieving it feels no pain? I believe this definitely needs to be researched. If it does cause pain then I believe we need to come up with an alternate solution, death still being the outcome, just in a humane way. I do believe in the death penalty. However, I did disagree with the statement about the man in Texes at the end of the article. The prisoner should be allowed to appeal the judge’s ruling. It’s not like the prisoner was going anywhere. What was the rush for? It’s a human life, let’s give them a little time. Back to what I was saying though. We do need the death penalty. Should society let the members that are harming us continue to do what they do? Not every criminal needs the death penalty. I believe it is only for a very small group, like the sex offenders that have been given multiple times to clean up. They have been put in facilities to help them, they’ve been put in jail, whatever. Some people admit that they will never stop, and to waste the taxpayer’s money on keeping them alive so that they will go out and hurt more people is pointless. We cannnot fix everyone. Some people are truly sick and will be that way forever. Why accomodate them? It is simply a waste.
Ok, this is a tough one to call. With lethal injections, it would be (and is) extremely difficult to say whether the condemned actually does feel pain in the time that it does take to kill them. Obviously, no one can actually say whether or not this is the case, or whether or not the condemned can voice their pain because anyone who has had these drugs pumped into their bodies has died. But here is the thing. It does not take very long for the condemned to die, and they are sentenced to the death penalty anyway, so I think that it is perfectly humane for lethal injections to be a legitimate death penalty. I think that it is a last ditch effort to get out of the penalty to say that it causes great, but literally unspeakable pain, and that is what makes it, therefore, inhumane.
On the subject of the death penalty of the prisoner in Texas, I think that the death penalty was administered way too soon. We know that Texas is big on the death penalty, and while I do not think that they should stop completely, I think that they need to let the condemned have time to prepare an appeal, instead of shipping them off to the death chamber hours after their verdict.
And on the note of the death penalty, I think that it should be essentially reserved for the people that cannot safely be integrated back into society. Those who are sick enough in the head to commit the same crimes over and over again, such as murderers and rapists are those that should get the priority of death penalties, which they rightly deserve. But for crimes and offenses on a smaller scale, the death penalty, no matter how humane or inhumane it is, should be held back.
~Liz
We can never make everybody happy with decisions we make with policies, especially when they come to such topics. But the death penalty is something that our country has used as punishment for years, decades even! In order to receive the death penalty, your crime had to be extreme…not 2nd degree (where as far as I am aware, the murder wasn’t necessarily intended). The people on death row are there for a reason; they are mentally imbalanced and have put the public in danger. If killing another person isn’t means enough to be isolated from public and ending your own life, I’m not certain what is! When people argue the death penalty is too severe or too drastic or inhumane, I can’t agree. What is inhumane, what is too severe, what is too drastic, are the actions these people took to get themselves on death row! In fact, these people who have committed these crimes are probably dying a far less painful death than the one they committed…Besides all of this, it costs our own (well, parents!) tax dollars to keep these murderers alive, clothed, fed, and sheltered. We are going to not only save their lives after they took others, but also waste our own on giving them a far luxurious, but definitely not a dumpster of a home. Unbelievable! The death penalty is something our country has used forever; something to give government a backbone. I’m personally not into wasting my own money on some psycho who doesn’t deserve to lick the dirt of my shoes, let alone keep his life.
Throughout the years the definition of “death penalty” has changed ever so slightly and now we rely on lethal injection. Supposedly lethal injection is harmless and is a quick, painless method of going about the death penalty. Only those opposed to this criminal sentence claim that there is a possibility of pain placed upon the convicted. If this is the case, honestly what is the big deal? They were sentenced to such a punishment for a reason and if it results in pain then so be it. It was their choice to do what they did and this is one of the ways they are punished. And as for lethal injection being considered unconstitutional and a form of cruel and unusual punishment, I have to disagree. Obviously death is never a pleasant thing to deal with, but maybe they should think about that before they commit a crime. If you kill your adoptive parents, such as Turner did, you are bound to get some form of punishment for it. Compared to many other methods previously used to put people to death, lethal injection is fairly tame. We are not torturing people here, at least not to the extent we used to; and any pain they feel does not last long. It is not like we are still hanging or quartering people.
I’m pretty sure that I’ve read a few articles about this same issue. I think it focused mostly on the reactions of the victims families who felt robbed of justice. A murderer had managed a stay of execution because his lawyers questioned whether or not their client would suffer. They argued that no one could tell for sure, because everyone who was lethally injected was dead, so they certaintly couldn’t offer up their opinion. Because no one could assure them that it wasn’t cruel, it shouldn’t be done.
Honestly, I think that’s stupid. I sort of agree with Brian, that killing people who kill people doesn’t really solve a problem, but I think life in prison just creates more problems. I’ve been reading this book on criminals and most of them just wanted to be caught, and most of the time they show no regret for their actions, even moments before execution. But there was another interesting thing brought up in this book, a lot of the criminals who were jailed, but not executed, were released and guess what? They killed again. So yeah, neither is a great option, but at least execution keeps a few murderers off the streets.
Back the lethal injection: any kind of death, probably isn’t going to feel good. I’m not for torturing these criminals, because that’s putting myself on their level, but why should we be so concerned that they might feel pain for the few seconds they have before they die? It’s got to be less painful than hanging or firing squad. I mean, they’re criminals who’ve done something bad enough to warrant being executed for it, why should we be so concerned about their comfort? I’m sure they didn’t treat their victims to such a luxury.
The death penalty is quite a contradicting and controversial topic. It ranks up there with stem cell research and gay marriage. Though some people think lethal injection is a cruel and unusual punishment it has changed a lot since it started with hangings and decapitation via guillotines. Although it is more humane than our old styles of execution it still has its down side. It’s not really as quick and painless as some people may think. Apparently there is extreme pain before death but the person is unable to show any emotion because of the injection itself. Although that may be true, I still think that it could be used with exception.
When someone is put to life in jail I believe it is done so they can think about what they have done and so on. I’m no expert but I think anyone who does something to be put on death row could possibly have been sent to life in jail instead. So maybe execution isn’t necessary, although if it is felt that it is necessary I think lethal injection is the best tool we have. I’m not saying that I completely agree with it, so I guess that means I don’t really have a very good opinion. Maybe if it is the option, up to the person harmed by the one being prosecuted. If it isn’t like that already. Like I said I’m not an expert at law but I think lethal injection should be legal but with some rule/regulations.
So… lethal injection… I don’t like lethal injection. I don’t like the penalty at all. I do think that it is not humane. For me, it goes to the saying, two wrongs don’t make a right. If we send someone to the death penalty, we stoop do the level of the “condemned.” In the real world, if person “A” steals persons ”B” cell phone, person “B” can’t go and steal person “A” cell phone. We all know that that isn’t right and anyone who did that would get in trouble. Also, the connotation that goes along with lethal injection! Oh it’s horrible. With the cocktail of drugs, the person will feel excruciating pain before the moment of death but won’t be able to cry out. It is unimaginable. Imagine this (since this really happens); say you go into facial reconstruction surgery. A surgeon is going to be scraping and cutting, cauterizing and sewing. Just imagine the sound ringing and reverberating through your ears as a drill is grinding away at your bones all while your anesthesia has worn of just enough for your brain to be conscious but you are still knocked out just enough that you can’t move, you can’t twitch you can’t scream or even wiggle your little finger to let someone know that you can feel every cut and poke inside your face. No one should have to feel this weather their going to die with in the next few seconds, or wake up in the next 4 hours.
Ah, the death penalty. It is such a controversial topic. So, the argument here seems to be whether the lethal injection hurts the victim or not, and whether that is right or wrong. An obvious point is that the constitution protects individuals from punishment that is cruel and/or unusual. Some people argue that the fact that the victim experiences pain as a result of the lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Which is a pretty good argument. I see their point. It is horrible to think that a person could be in excruciating pain, and not able to cry out or do anything about it. Others may argue that the crimes the prisoners have committed deserve justice, no matter the amount of pain the victim goes through. Therefore, they would argue, the prisoner deserves the pain. I think that is pretty heartless. Personally, I do not think that we should have the death penalty, because it is not our place to decide who lives and who dies. Something has to be done with these criminals, and they have to pay somehow; I just don’t think that lethal injection is the way to go. But yeah, that is my take on things!
~ Maggie
As much as i would like to say that i am against killing someone as punishment for killing someone, i don’t see how we can just put someone in jail for life either. Doing that would cause our jail systems to overflow with inmates eventually and we would end up right where we started again. Now, i do feel that i am against capital punishment and things of that nature, but at the same time, i don’t really see any other way at this point. Until we find other means of punishment, what are we supposed to do?
I also think that the death penalty has become substantially more humane than it used to be. Then the question arrises if the guilty person feels pain before dying from this injection, and that answer will most likely forever be unsure, but possibly looking into different formulas for the injection that we are sure will not cause any pain is a possibility.
I find the fact that since the Supreme Court is looking into the lethal injection being unlawful interesting. The reason being, it took us so long to get to that point. It took this long to stop and look at this and see if it was wrong and unlawful. It makes me wonder why now? what is so special about today? Why are we just looking at this now?
I suppose what I’m trying to say is, i really don’t have an exact opinion on this subject because there are just far too many ups and downs to the whole thing. I’m just on the fence, and I’m fairly positive that i will be there for some time…
Reference, Completely and Utterly Invalid
Anthony while I read your article I agree with the beginning of your article; however, when I came to your statement: “I don’t understand why the courts have to decide if the death penalty is cruel or not. If you kill, you will be killed. Eye for an eye.” I completely disagree with your “eye for an eye” reference. In fact it is in complete wrong context. If we go back to the reference that you quoted it, whether you knew or not, goes back to Exodus 21:22-25—yes, the Bible. If we read those four verses it goes to say this: “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth PREMATURELY but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” So you see from the actual context of your reference it deals with a premature birth. I don’t know about you, but I doubt that even a quarter of the men or women on death row struck a pregnant woman and prematurely gave birth to a still born. So your whole argument based on “eye for an eye” is completely and utterly invalid. In fact what you were talking about discussed revenge. Revenge does not build up or help people, or even the nation, progress past the situation. I disagree with revenge, which you brought up. It’s not our duty to condemn people to death. We can judge and decide what they did was wrong, lock them up, and so forth, but to kill a man because he killed another man does not make since. Vengeance has never been condoned in any society.
Danny Porter
So I agree with Megan. Kind of. I agree with her that lethal injection needs to be researched. I am sure that there are other ways to kill someone. However, I disagree with the statement that we don’t know if the victim, yes victim, of lethal injection actually feels anything. This is a bunch of bull. The cocktail of the three drugs were chosen for a reason. The drugs aren’t going to be chosen just randomly to see what will happen. It’s like an episode of 24 when jack was interrogating a suspect and they brought in an interrogation expert. The expert used an inflammatory that attacked the nervous system. The interrogator specifically picked this drug because he knew what the drug would do and that it would cause pain. Or like when a doctor prescribes a medication. The doctor picks a certain drug because he knows what effect the drug will have on a patient. So I find it very hard to believe that the executioner doesn’t know what drug he is giving the victim. The executioner give the victim an anesthetic on purpose. This is why the victim can feel pain but is too knocked out to cry out in pain. The executioners know exactly what the victim is being shot up with.
As Shauna said, we have gone from being hanged to being electrified to being injected with a combination of lethal drugs. Each one seeming a little less visual than what we have done in the past, but in a sense, they have gotten crueler. I don’t see where we get off believing that we can decide the future for someone who has committed a crime. I disagree with you, Matthieu, when you say that “…those who will murder and take lives without even blinking an eye need to be rid of”, aren’t we as decision makers doing the same thing we are trying a man for – murder? Whether they “deserve” it or not, I don’t believe, it’s our choice to decide whether a man is sentenced to the death penalty. Now, I don’t think that the criminal should be let off completely or with some ridiculous time of 10 years, but I find the death penalty to be an extreme sentence, even for someone who has committed a crime such as murder.
In response to Danny’s response.
It always amazes me how I seem to stand behind Danny and agree with him. I believe that the “eye for an eye” theory although strong, is not correct in my opinion. To me that doesn’t truly sound like you’re trying to make right with the world. It means that instead of truly punishing them and letting them think about their wrong doings for a very long time in jail, you give them the easier route. It’s almost like feeling sympathetic for them because their conscience is kicking in and they don’t want to sit in jail for a very long time and have to dwell on it. Instead you let them off easy (not exactly the easiest mind you), and put their mind to rest, even though they don’t deserve that sort of sympathy.
Also, I like Danny’s proof using Scripture, whether you’re a firm believer in the Bible or not, you can still use this as some sort of factual tool. It just shows that “eye for an eye” originally didn’t have the meaning it has today. It’s been construed and changed, furthermore if it is not being used in its right context it shouldn’t be used at all, especially when trying to prove a point.
~Ryan Brannan
Response to Tiara
First of all I have to ask is there a humane way to kill people. I really don’t think there is a humane way to kill people because they are going to die either way. But I do believe I in the death penalty, which might seems contradictory to the point I just brought up before this. But I do have to disagree with Tiara when she says letting people live with what they have done is punishment enough. First of all for, I think if your going to kill someone there might be something wrong with you if your even thinking about that in the first place. I don’t even see how people could even think of harming other people. But that’s just how I see things. Now this takes me to why I think the death penalty is good. If you kill someone why should you get to live out the rest of your life? I am really wondering why. If any body has a good answer I would really like to hear it. I believe people should be punished for the crimes they commit. Huh, I wonder how it would work if criminals were punished they same way they did whatever they did to get punished (if that wording makes any sense, I don’t really know how to state it). But that actually could be really bad, so maybe not. But I just believe we should have lethal injections and the death penalty should be used when needed.
Brian,
If we were to be rid of the death penalty, do you have any reform suggestions for the judicial system in terms of punishment of criminals? I do not believe in “an eye for an eye” but there are certain crimes that are unforgivable, such as genocide and repeated sex crimes. In most prisons, inmates have access to many luxuries that are not always available to even the most law-abiding Americans like internet, three hot meals a day, cable television, and a college education all while in PRISON! My aunt’s second husband once found a man living in his van who was stashing all of his “souvenirs” from businesses and houses he had broken into so that, when the police came, there would be enough evidence to convict him and send him back to jail. He had been released a month prior and found that he liked it better in prison than in the free world. This man was not a murderer or sex offender and I do not think it necessary to deal him severe punishment but honestly, why should these luxuries be given to felons when they are not given to every American? This, in my opinion, is why simply imprisoning felons that would previously have been given the death penalty would not work in our current prison system. I think the death sentence should be used sparingly, but it should not be gotten rid of.
Now that I’ve wandered slightly off topic, if you’re going to call killing a mass murder/repeated sex offender cruel and unusual punishment that is clearly against the constitution, what about being locked up for life? Let’s assume the system has been reformed and the worst felons no longer have access to cable, internet, etc. I would rather be dead than confined to a small cell for the rest of my life.