US News
Florida governor launches investigation into 34-minute execution
Dec 15, 2006, 19:01 GMT
Washington - Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Friday launched an investigation into the gruesome, 34-minute-long execution of a prisoner, which has renewed calls for a halt to the death penalty in the state.
It should have taken only a few minutes for 55-year-old Angel Nieves Diaz to fall unconscious after being administered with a lethal injection Wednesday, but instead fought off death for a full 34 minutes, The Miami Herald reported.
Bush has asked the state's Department of Corrections to investigate the execution, calling it 'appropriate to do so given the unusual length of time it took for the process to be complete,' according to the Herald.
An emergency petition was filed to Florida's Supreme Court Thursday on behalf of other inmates on Death Row, seeking that executions by lethal injection be halted because they violate the state's constitution, which protects against 'cruel and unusual punishment.'
The court declined to halt executions but sent the case to a lower court to be considered.
Diaz was sentenced to death 27 years ago for the murder of a Miami topless bar manager. An appeal of his death sentence, based on the cruelty of lethal injections, was denied by the US Supreme Court.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
they should have just cut off both his feet and let him bleed out for 34 mins.
I am glad he suffered. It's not only about the criminal being punished. It serves as an example to others that there is a price to pay. It's just a shame that it took 27 years of the taxpayer supporting this murderer for justice to be served.
Wow, no mention of the torture or drawn out death of the person he killed?! I am sure the police framed him, the jury misunderstood, the prosecutor lied, the court messed up..... Blah, Blah, Blah, I say bring back 'old smokey' and see if the sparking electric chair deters any crime...Happy Holidays
A bullet would have been quicker.
there is no such thing as cruel and unusual punishment. The topless bartender and her family surely suffered for more than 34 minutes.
Poor guy. Wish I could have seen it. And very fact that he was most likely unconcious says that he probably didn't feel a thing. Too bad. Bring back the chair without the electrolyte. Then you would really see punishment. He got better treatment than in China or Saudi Arabia.
Where is the concern for the suffering of the victim and family members? I'm happy to see that other commenters agree. When will this nation stop taking the side of the perpetrators? When will we express outrage for the victims and their families instead of wasting energy crying for criminals? Wake up, America!
Who cares if he suffered for 34 minutes or 34 years. He killed another human and now their family must suffer a lifetime. Maybe justice was served today after all........................
Wish we could do the same up here in canada....Get rid of them!!!!
The only thing better for him would have been a molten lead enema...
What an unbelieveably horrific bunch of comments. The point that should not be forgotten is that this is America, and that we are supposed to be a nation of laws and justice applied blindly and evenly. The suffering of one's victim is not --- nor should be --- a factor determined in meting out punishment (up to and including death).
Wow. your Floridians are sure tough on crime. Interesting reading of your enjoyment of a human suffering. I have no sympathy for the murderer, but little more sympathy for all of you and your shallow and ignorant approach to the topic. Human suffer is human suffering is human suffering, period. Whether or not you are for or against capital punishment, every person deserves to die in a civil manner - regardless of their crime. It is was makes us better than them. Think about it the next time you cheer for someone's death. I can't even believe I am having this discussion, we are better than this.
Merry Chirstmas.
-a fellow American from CA.
Hey Jeb, Investigate what? Look and listen to the PEOPLE. You do the crime, you do the time or get death. We as a nation should never forget the victims and the victims families. They have suffered for 34 years because of this low life. If our politicians could think past the next election they may just see what the People of this great nation really want. JUSTICE!
I believe that this man should have suffered. Was 34 minutes nessesary? Probably not, but anyone who kills an other person should pay the ultimate price. I hope the victim's family and friends find closure in the death of this man.
having worked in the prison world all prisoners are innocent no matter what i am sure it was bad for his family to see this but he also took a human life and that person suffered maybe even more as did his family dont be pc all the time sometimes GOD has his way in dealing with a person's death
SURE IT'S ALWAYS TEARS AND VIGILS FOR THE MURDERERS, WHAT ABOUT THE VICTIMS AND THIER FAMALIES WHO HAD TO WAIT 27 !! YES TWENTY SEVEN YEARS FOR JUSTICE. THE CRIMINALS AND THIER LAWERS GET TO PLAY THE APPEAL AND DELAY GAME FOR A LONG TIME. I WAS A CORRECTION OFFICER AND NEVER HEARD ONE GUY ADMIT TO ANYTHING, EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THEM HAD OVER 240 ARRESTS ON HIS RAP SHEET. GIVE US LAW ABIDEING CITIZENS A BREAK----EXICUTE THEM FASTER
The only thing wrong with this case is that the attorney's were not there also after wasting all the tax payers money for 27 years.
Ah yes, the retribution crowd, pleased as punch that the fellow who caused suffering was suffering.
Let me guess: you all identify as Christians too? Figures.
Revenge isn't justice. Having a real justice system is what sets us apart from the rest of the world we say we don't want to be like. Nobody thinks a mistake could ever happen to them or someone they love, but innocent people get convicted all the time.
Justice should mean that a convicted killer gets locked up for the rest of their life, no exceptions. That's my opinion. The victims are not going to get their loved one back no matter what. Making the perpetrator suffer horrible pain will only serve to bring everyone else down to his level.
I'm not surprised if the people in prison act like barbarians. What surprises me is when the general public begin to sound like that.
people pretty much deserve just what they get in respect for their crimes
I would have thought that the thing that seperates normal US citizens from the murderers and criminals is that the former don't enjoy the suffering of others, but apparently not.
I'm not a religious man but didn't J.C. say something about him who is without sin casting the first stone?
Did you all forget what I said? Thou shalt not kill. Forgive.
I'm thankful there wee a few humane comments the rest of you sound like a bunch of cold blooded murderers. It frightens me to think there are so many fierce and viscious 'good people'.
Regrettable.
Nonetheless, I like to think of Capital Punishment as a complete rehabilitation of the criminal. A good term is 'Death Therapy'. It's guaranteed to work!
He is certain to, never again, commit a single crime. He will never be a burden to society. He has atoned for his crimes, absolutely.
Progress. It has an elegance all its own...
SP4
I always wonder why in the United States, the government seems to always worried about the right of the criminal. Has anyone wonder did the criminal bothered how long it took for his victim to die?
He got what he deserves. In some countries this criminal would have got it worse.
I think the U.S needs to put the majority law abiding citizens right first.
Aren't we fighting a war against worldwide terrorism just to protect us from this kind of inhumanity? Those who advocate the 'punishment fits the crime' mentality are medieval. It demeans our own Western values and Judeo-Christian mores.
What we've lost as a society in the past decade is any sense of compassion. (See comments above to get a sense of that.)
Our treatment of the homeless, the mentally ill, the criminally insane, the poor and even our own children is reflected in the way this man died, strapped to a table waiting 34 minutes to be executed.
The difference between the murder he committed and the legal killing we as a society condone is negligible. It's the taking of a human life. Each time it happens, it makes life incrementally cheaper. The blood of both the victim and the man we as a society condemned to death is on our hands.
The great irony is that perhaps what we hate most about radical Islam...the fundamentalism, the cruelty, the way women and children are treated...are the very things we share most in common.
Who says that death is justice? You all agree that this man had no right to kill his victim, but ignore the fact that, therefore, no-one had the right to kill him either. He might have done a horrible thing, but that doesnt make him any less human. He may have suffered for 34 minutes in pain, but try, for one moment, to immagine the torture in his soul for 27 years, waiting and knowing that he was going to die. Isnt spending the rest of your natural life in prison more torture than simply having it ended?
The death penalty does not deter crimes like murder. Do you think any murderer stops to think, 'Hey, wait a sec, I might be put to death for this.' No! They're either in a fit of rage, or their next thought is, 'I'll just be careful not to get caught.'
Whatever happens to the criminal in these situations, the victims of these crimes will never really have closure. Their family member / friend / coworker will never come back. Im sure any human being will agree that no matter what happens to punish the criminal, things will never be the same again.
page: 1
Jason SmithDec 15th, 2006 - 21:36:45
He got what he deserved...
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