US News
Lethal injections may leave inmates conscious until death: study
Apr 24, 2007, 18:35 GMT
San Francisco - The cocktail of lethal injections used to administer the death penalty in California and North Carolina may leave inmates conscious but unable to move as they are killed by painful 'chemical asphyxiation,' according to a new medical study reported Tuesday.
The study, which appeared in the online edition of PLoS Medicine - a San Francisco-based medical journal - bolsters earlier research that questioned whether the use of three chemicals to administer the death penalty was a form of 'cruel and unusual punishment' banned by the US constitution.
The cocktail uses sodium pentothal to render the inmate unconscious, potassium chloride to stop the heart and pancuronium bromide to stop respiration.
But Dr Leonidas Koniaris, a surgeon at the University of Miami in Florida and lead author of the paper, said the amount of sodium pentothal used in executions may not be sufficient to knock out the condemned inmates while the two other chemicals do their lethal work.
The 'dose may not be associated with the induction of anaesthesia, particularly in bigger men,' he said, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle.
As a consequence, during the course of the execution, the condemned man or woman may experience severe pain when the second dose of chemicals - potassium chloride - is infused to stop the heart. 'It would cause a burning sensation that would be extremely painful,' Koniaris said.
Koniaris added that data suggested that inmates died two to nine minutes after potassium chloride was administered, which raises the prospect that the death may ultimately come from administration of the third chemical, pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the lungs.
'In such cases, death by suffocation would occur in a paralyzed inmate fully aware of the progressive suffocation and the potassium-induced sensation of burning,' he said.
Questions about the humaneness of the execution procedure led US District Court judge Jeremy Fogel to block executions in California since February 2006, declaring that the existing protocols were 'intolerable under the constitution' but could be repaired.
The California Department of Corrections is scheduled to present a new proposal for lethal injection procedures next month.
However the authors of the new study said that lethal injection is not humane and cannot be improved upon.
'There is no ethical way to establish the humaneness of procedures for killing people who do not wish to die,' they wrote. 'Execution by lethal injection ... has the same relationship to medicine that an executioner's axe has to surgery.'
Đ 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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So what if they feel it? Did anyone ask their victims if it was hurting?
I totally agree with BigDave.
If they have commited a crime so terrible that they are being put to death, who cares if they suffer some on the way. They most likely were not so considerate of their victims.
Agree with Big Dave and Michelle.
I'm tired of bleeding hearts sticking up for criminals.
They deserve what they get!
They should feel as much pain as possible!!! Their victims didn't have a choice!!
The issue isn't wether or not the condemned deserve to feel pain when they die. That is objective. The issue is that there are laws against cruel and unusual punishment that are being violated. This new potentially true finding would be classified as cruel/unusual and therefore this method of execution would be modified or discontinued. I agree that murderers, rapists, etc should see justice but who will determine the most humane way to bring it about. That is the real question.
That is matter for concern. I don't know why other guys are against this. If it it to be painful death, then let's throw stones on the victims until they die as in some middle east countries, we are a democratic country and we should be concerned on such deaths
Just cut a main artery, hang them upside down and let them bleed to death.
Screw 'em. Let them feel everything. Being dead is painless. Getting there is fine anyway it happens. Remember burning at the stake?
Spoken like a true Christian. I'm so proud of you all.
So after the liberals get rid of lethal injection what will be next.... I guess they'll want to get rid of 'life sentences', then maybe we'll give murders a box of chocolates, some money, and a hooker for good faith! Iraq has is right, hang 'em, end of story.
Personally i believe that it should be as painful as possible. However the constitution does prevent cruel and unusual punishment. We must abide by the constitution. The simple, cost effective, and constitution following solution is to shoot them in the back of the head. They will feel no pain, its cheap, very effective, and quick. Who can argue with that?
Why not just kill them with a cocaine or heroin overdose? They die happy, and if it doesn't work they'll look forward to the second try. It also sends an umistakeable message to everybody -- drugs can kill you! It's win--win.
I agree, there's no point to this study as indicated by the comment at the end about 'Humaneness in killing'
Who funds these studies anyway? A waste of money in my opinion.
If they are worried about hurting someone in the process of killing them isn't that an oxy-moron? Anyone considered a bullet to the head instead? That could be cost effective too given that 3 injections probably costs more than a .22 bullet. - just a thought.
Yay! Finally a possible effective deterrent. 'Cruel and unusual' only applies to methods WORSE that the criminal themselves used - after all, what they did was really 'usual' to them.
The question should be: 'Does the production of such chemicals release too much co2 into the atmosphere?'
Lets just go back to the old tried and true method, hang them ..
If the sodium Pentathol is not enough to knock out the condemned, GIVE THEM A BIGGER DOSE!!!! Who cares if that kills them. The potassium chloride and the other stuff will kill them anyway. DEAD IS DEAD.
Can't we just shoot them?
Its alot CHEAPER and probably more humane.
How can you people think this way? I do not believe in lethal injections AT ALL. And after reading this it's appalling to me that anyone would use chemicals to paralyze some one and let them slowly die. After all bullet to the brain is WAY cheaper and MUCH quicker. Why spend all that tax payer money on chemicals? I guess if they really want to use chemicals, (splattered brains can be a bit messy I guess)... what about bleach? Wal-Mart has gallon jugs on sale as I type. That'll kill 'em. No need to swab the injection spot, (which can some one explain that one to me?) bleach will kill all the bacteria there is. Killing a bad guy can't be cruel and/or unusual. Screw that. Poor bad guy! Boo Hoo! I'm not religious per se.. . but that whole eye for an eye thing rings true with me. Own up to your actions. If you take a life... good bye!
why in the hell should it matter that the 'might' be concious? if it can be proven beyond a doubt that their victims were not concious why being murdered, then maybe this would be something to consider,for a moment; and then disregard and proceed with the execution. i have no sympathy for murderers. i honestly believe that they should feel the same amount of terror and pain that they inflicked on their victims:and, i would love to see these executions become public for all to witness.
WHY, I repeat Why are we worried about what someone on death row is going through. They didnt get there for being model citizens! They are there because they did something that was terrible! One turn deserves another. How are people who perform terrible acts & are convicted of these doing expecting everyone their peers to feel sorry for them! They need to suck it up & take their punishment. If they are man or woman enough to do the crime they need to be man or woman enough to suffer the consequences!
You do the crime, you suffer the punishment. Why do we worry about the prisoner and what he/she feels. What about the victum. If we speeded up the execution process so it would become a reality, perhaps people would give a little more thought befor taking a life.
Wow. You people are amazing. It was only a short time ago that the 200th person to be exonerated by reviewing DNA evidence was freed. The death penalty is a one-way punishment, and considering how many have been cleared of charges after being convicted, is a punishment that is unjust, and should be abolished.
Innocent until proven guilty is in short supply these days; you 'know-it-all judge, jury, and executioners' should see what it's like to be on the other side of falsified evidence, corrupt officials, and a court system swayed by money. A few years ago, an FBI DNA lab was under investigation for falsifying hundreds of results, several judges were found to be taking bribes in the southeast, and Miami-Dade county police were found to be intimidating and obstructing anyone who wanted to file complaints about officers.
I'm saddened to see how much faith you put in government, when it's comprised of imperfect people. Any irreversible punishment has no place in the US, or the world. Anyone who thinks that capital punishment is a good idea is obviously very sheltered, or stupid. Or both.
Silly how money is spent to fund a study like this...but not surprising as they still clean off the injection site with alcohol swab to pevent infection.
I may not agree with previous posts of hanging, or inflicting 'as much pain as possible' but to pay 'professionals' to do this study is cruel and unusual punishment to the families of all the victims who no doubt live with the pain and suffering caused by such criminals for far longer than 2-9 minutes!! absurd!
There was no mercy when our Lord was hung on a cross with nails in hands, do you suppose they would prefer that method??
Slap them on the wrist and tell them not to do it again. That will work.
Give 'em exactly what they gave...make it as long lasting and as painful as possible or however it exactly reflects the crime they inflicted on others. Eye for an eye...damn straight.
Who cares about some pedophile who rapes, tortures, and then kills his/her victims? I know I don't!
I agree that our justice system is flawed and innocent people do end up doing time and possibly on death row as well. However, unless you have a solution for a better justice system and a better deterrent for those who choose to consider murder an option - keep your mouth shut. Without capital punishment, a lifetime in prison is NOT a very effective deterrent to most criminals. Food, shelter, books, magazines, visitation and in some prisons radio and even TV - no resposibilities like a job - Duh? sounds more like a vacation....Those of you against capital punishment should think more about the implications: hmm, murder someone and get to live for free at the tax payers expense...that's a real deterrent!
Forget all this complicated chemical nonsense. The good old firing squad was the best. It only cost a few cents in bullets and the victim dies very quickly. But of course, the people who run our judicial system aren't too bright when they waste our tax money in gauze pads and alcohol swabbing the inmate to prevent infection before they inject him with poison. Now, are these people stupid or what?
can't we all just get along
'Without capital punishment, a lifetime in prison is NOT a very effective deterrent to most criminals'
That will be why the US is so crime free compared with Europe.
Most punishments are not a deterrent. Murders and rapists are usually beyond thinking about the consequences, so the deterrent is meaningless.
Barbaric stuff, killing a murder is worse than the original crime in some ways. Since they were mentally unstable or what we define as 'evil'/'bad'. Yet lots of 'good' and sometimes 'Christian' people are happy to kill someone in cold blood...to day nothing of the mistakes.
Can you give someone who is executed in error their life back? Thought not...then don't be so quick to meet out punishment you that cannot put right if it goes wrong.
I doubt there are very many innocent people on death row. If there are then we need to revamp our judicial system. I think we need to go after the lawyers because they are the ones getting these some of these scumbags off.
I think that we ought to tie the dead body of the person they killed to them until the toxins in the dead body kill them. This was done several 1000 years ago. It is cost effective it doesn't cost a thing. Well maybe some duct tape.
Oh for the good old days.
To allow these people to cry to the court is a perversion of justice. The families of their victims should choose their means of execution, and in that case, I don't think that they would be complaining about feeling a needle.
I guess we should expect this from a country that tortures it's prisoners of war and thinks the murder of 32 of it's children is a small price to pay for the right to carry a gun. America is a country at war with itself and it will end up the same as Rome. Sadly it's death throes will continue to cause suffering the world over.
So they might feel pain as they get their ticket punched. So what? Someone feeling pain when they are executed is not cruel and unusual punishment--it's just punishment. Besides, death for murder 1 and treason is limited to cases with special aggravating circumstances anyway, so these losers deserve what they get, both in terms of Karma and Justice. The only people crying hysterics over this are the bleeding-hearts who don't like the death penalty anyway and look for any excuse to end it. (That'll end the day one of these condemned escapes and kills one of them or their families!) Dead men commit no more crimes, period, and those who get the needle deserve to get it.
Initially, my thought was 'So where is the problem?' but I've thought more about it since. If we are a nation of laws, if we are a people of justice this attitude that revels in the potential of someone not only being incarcerated but also raped, abused and tortured is wrong. It is counter to every principle that this country is founded on. It is counter to the tenets of every major religion. Torture is wrong, period. I think a core problem has to do with our system of corrections/punishment. If we do not possess a reliable method for reforming people, a method for extracting payment for their social sins then why are we locking them up? If we are locking them up because they are 'bad' people, but we do not have a process for improving them what is the point? A guilty person incarcerated for 3 years is no less guilty when he gets out. Prisons were created to hold people until they could pay to be released or until it was time to kill them. A person coming out of prison today is starting further back than an immigrant from the Third World. What problem are we solving? If the government is going to be empowered to exterminate criminals it should be much more immediate, absent emotion and with as little pain as possible.
Can't they just find a good veterinarian to do the job!
i am sure their victims did not feel a thing while say, they were opened up and screwed with a piece of steel, like a knife or other such implement by the condemed.
i say let them all hang.
they serve no useful purpose in our world.
sentance should be carried out less than one year after trial as well, to make them less of a burden on the states finances.
like i said once sentanced with a capital crime, there is no use for you here.
The comments above shine a mirror on the reasons the rest of the world looks upon this country as a society overrun with sick sociopaths.
then go back to your home country mr.\mrs. 'american'. it seems you are not happy here. perhaps you would be more content in another country, one where you can live in fear, (of goverment, law enforcement, and your fellow citizens.) plauge, famine, take your pick. just take yourself out of my homeland with that talk.
If the objective is to terminate the life of a person convicted of killing others, then they(the perp) give up their rights as soon as they commit the crime, the laws against cruel and unusual punishment are for those who still retain some rights, as a convicted killer and having commited a crime sooo terrible that they are condemmed to death...I dont feel they have any rights left......and if you are so concerned about a painful death, you could also grossly overdose them on heroin................or use a .22 semi auto...and five of six quick shots at close range in the brain...or just keep shooting until their life signs are history.....because .22 rounds on sale are about 2 cents each.....much more economical......and why the heck dont they offer real anathesia and do an organ harvest....kill two birds with one stone.....ok
I am appalled at the inhumanity of using lethal injections for executions. Its use is inadequate at best and inhumane at worst, and clearly it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Doubly troubling is the knowledge that the formulation was reputedly devised by some hick Okie politician. The technology needed to rectify this unacceptable practice exists; the medical knowledge is at our disposal. We need only return to the basic issue of the humane treatment of those facing death: euthanasia, as practiced by Dr. Jack Kervorkian.
unusual and cruel punishment eh? Ask the families of the victims how they feel about this...
conscious until death: (as apposed to what?)
What are you suposed to be before you die?
Who cares what they feel it cant be any worst than thier victim.
I say we should just put all the murderers in a giant tank and fill it with water its like god is giving them a big wet hug. we need room in the prisons for mexicans and katrina evacuees
It took one condemned man 34 minutes to die after being injected. Thirty-four minutes! Just think if that was you, or your son, lying unconscious on that cold steel gurney, slowly dying. We are a strong nation because of our belief in the rights of the individual, each one of us, free and condemned alike. We fight to defend those rights. We fight for justice and what is right. And lethal injection as implemented now is not just, it is not right. So let's be strong and do the right thing: fight for our right to die humanely.
The 'study' was probably flawed. The dosage of pentathol given at the beginning of the lethal injection process is far greater than that needed to induce unconsciousness. Clearly the 'study' was engineered by some retromingent lib.
Gee. Did the (pick one) bullets, Knife, rope, tire iron) they used make thier victims feel nice?
Nobody caresabout this. Nobody.
Is there EVER anything like a PAINLESS death? And who do we ask about PAIN experienced during a lethal injection death?
OsiSpeaks.com or OsiSpeaks.org
i agree we should stop it and instead we should cut off their leg and light em on fire
Well maybe if we go back to 'Hanging' them on the nearest tree it won't hurt so much. But 'NO' that might be to quick and humane, after all they were so sweet and humane when they raped and killed my nieghbor.
Sorry folks, but I think they need to suffer just a little bit more than thier victim did.
uh, pardon me for quoting you Jesus, in reading this whole blood thirsty murderous rant,I am at last at peace with being anti-death penalty. I think I understand that sentence a little better... 'Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.'
It is a joke to say that execution will deter people from a crime. Most of these people are not smart enough to ponder the consequences of their actions.. and if they are smart enough then they are arrogant enough to imagine that they will not be caught, so they do not consider the punishment. When you see that most murders are not solved, it turns out that they are right they will not be caught. Good luck trying to stop crime because you will never do it and most criminals will be free enjoying life as well as the profits of their crimes. I say take the resources which are used in executions, etc, and use that money to catch criminals so that we can really be safe. Executions are only fulfilling the onlooker's primal need for vengeance. Good luck to those of you who are reading this.
I suggest that all executions be by firing squad.
That is what I would call uncruel and usual.
While I am philosophically against the death penalty, when I hear of evil things done, my reaction in my head is typically violent. It's a kind of fear trip. Aside from what a condemned person may or may not 'deserve', we should keep in mind what it does to us as a society if we torture people and kill them in grotesque ways. It is possible that the thoughtless and gruesome remarks on this list are a product of just such a twisted society.
We live in a society that is historically racist toward blacks and put quite a number of people to death because they were black and in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you want to note the state of our justice system today, watch the Attorney General say he can't remember 72 times before the congressional committee. Did you know they put an innocent woman in prison? She was just released upon higher review with the judge stating that the rationale for the prosecution was completely absent.
There needs to be checks on punishment. Causing a convicted man to suffer as he dies does not further protect us. It does not set an example that deters other criminals from all the statistics that I've seen ... especially when we don't even know they are suffering as in the current lethal injection situation. It is simply revenge. And that is something which may very well damn us to suffering what we have caused others to suffer until the end of time. There are religions that teach that...Christianity being one of them. As you judge, so are you judged.
what if the guy is innocent?
Yeah, I hate non-compliant layouts, too. I also agree that the death penalty, as it is now, really isn't much of a deterrent for future would-be murderers. However, eliminating a murderer will get rid of the possibility that s/he will murder someone while in prison.
There are a lot of murders committed in prisons, most of them being the killing of other prisoners and some against prison guards. That alone justifies the death penalty in my mind. If the one being executed is innocent that is a shame, but the saving of many lives outweighs that rare occurrence. Plain and simple, it is better that one person die than many, guilty or innocent. That sounds cruel, but it really isn't when you compare it with the alternative.
I have an obvious question after reading the article. Can't they just put more anesthesia in the cocktail and/or give it to the convicted criminal with a greater time margin between it and the other two substances than they have now?
It's especially great when they're innocent huh?
You guys are a bit sick to find joy in death - no matter who it is -
why not offer them a cyanide pill as an option to the 'cruel & unusual ' punishment...they then have a choice in the matter,never mind there being no choices given to their victims...
I guess humanity and compassion applies to all, including crminals. Sure they have committed a crime so terrible that they deserved to die but nonetheless, they are still human and we should treat them as such.
So what's the problem? Did their victims have any choice when they had their guts ripped out, were strangled, were shot, were knifed, were blown away for nine bucks ?
Stop it you Liberal assholes. Let's get these people off our planet and stop asking questions.
You are insulting their victims by fighting for the death row scumbags rights.
Humane way to execute someone? WTF? It is about eliminating the individual who has lost their right to live. Feed them to the lions! Let the families of the victims choose punishment (torture, dismemberment, suffocation...whatever). Who cares. Does it make one holy to 'forgive these poor lost souls' or is it because of some other stupid idea about right and wrong. We put to much reliance on conventions of law and religious b.s. that we loose sight of true humanity. Are we saying that if the individual suffers we are in someway recieving gratification-and that is wrong? The only problem with execution is that they are too damn slow. There are millions of individuals (incarcerated or yet to be caught) that do not deserve to live. Kill them all, kill them slowly.
Shamelessly ignorant, most of you. If you love capital punishment so much, knowing that our system is as screwed as it is (Dna exhonerations, corruption etc) then I think it is not us humane-minded that should leave the country, but YOU, sadistic wretches that should leave, preferably to a muslim country, where your type belongs. If you wanted to know the truth about this stuff, you would - here you are on the internet where all the info is available. But the fact that you know more about American Idol than you do about how 'effed' your system is speaks volumes about the average American mind. Unthinking simpletons. To whom much is given... God have mercy. I'm gonna go vomit.
I 100% agree with Jesus
americans are fun for sure...i mean as soon as i feel bored, i look out for some news in american media...believe me it's damm entertaining. a couple of years back i heard one american news channel proclaiming that they did the world a favor by dropping a bomb on hiroshima....lol..keep up the spirit. the non-americans need amusement
Since when do we adopt the morals of convicted murderers? I don't care what another person has done. I want to behave in a way which is decent and humane. And I would hope that our government would do the same.
We are not the Nazis.
Yet.
This is gonna be a whole lot of trouble explaining this to an American but I'll give it a shot anyway.
The problem with capital punishment is not whether the criminal in question deserves it or not. Its not even whether its human or horribly painful.
The biggest issue here is, that the conviction and killing of a man or woman is a process. As anything created by human mind, this process may also be flawed, personal and subjective. Once society gets comfortable with the though of killing a man and the process of doing it becomes too easy to get to the next step of fitting such big decisions into a process that might be flawed. Sooner or later we'll be debating mass executions, to save time. One thing will lead to another and soon society will have no problem destroying itself on an industrial scale, believing that its all part of the process and that it must be right, since its according to the law.
I know most Americans have a pretty good of their system, but from time to time it really does help to look away from the TV and ask some questions.
Hey, Jesus, doesn't the Bible also say an eye for an eye. Who cares if they suffer, they are murderers its justice. We should ring our guardposts with them in Iraq and use them to clear minefields. Ah the Penal Battlion!
I used to be all in favour of the death penalty until I learned how many times innocent people are wrongly found guilty. It happens all the time. So life sentences have this to be said for them: when we discover that our justice system has falsely condemned yet another innocent person, we can release them and do not have their blood on our hands.
As to the painfulness of executions, there seems to be a widespread belief that death is bound to be painful. I don't quite see this. When I was five years old, I had my appendix removed, and the first step was for the surgeon to give me an injection of pentothal. He challenged me to stay awake while he counted to ten... I made it to six. Had I died while under the influence, I don't suppose I would have known or felt a thing. I certainly have no memory of the operation, which must have been painful enough otherwise.
Lastly, isn't there something in the US Constitution about 'cruel or unusual punishment'? The electric chair and lethal injection, though no doubt considered modern and progressive about 100 years ago, are both cruel and unusual. As someone else remarked, if you want to put people to death barbarously, why not do so by stoning them or beheading them? But then you couldn't have your cake and eat it by condemning Muslims for their methods of execution.
what about the thousands of people that have been killed wrongly by our justice dept not only are we killing them we are torturing them also for something that they did not do the death penalty should only be used in cases where dna proves beyond a reasonable doubt that they are guilty then after that they should die by there own demise.
I love how we go on and on about middle eastern countries beheading criminals. Let us first decide what we want - a painful gruesome death or a quick end to life. If you want a gruesome death then hats off to our 'progressive' values for gloating about the gruesome nature of someone's death. Fact is taking the criminal's life is enough punishment, who are we to impose pain and trauma at that moment. Does that not make us the same as the murderer himself who reveled in his gruesome act?
As a civilized human being, if such a term exists in our society today, we should not let our hunger for revenge cloud judgment. I dare say, Middle Eastern methodologies may seem gruesome but they are quick and instant death and sorry to say this but if we were to view videos of people on the electric chair I am sure the sane amongst us would certainly question whether we are any more civilized than the people of Arabia.
As for justice, for a nation that so blatantly runs a concentration camp in Cuba we sure have some nerve preaching justice. How are the indefinite detentions without trial, no substantial evidence and constant torture at Guantanamo bay any different from the dungeons of dictators or the concentration camps of WWII?
We can kill em on a battlefield but we can't hold em at club gitmo?...What would happen to these terrorists that are at gitmo?
'Wow. You people are amazing. It was only a short time ago that the 200th person to be exonerated by reviewing DNA evidence was freed. The death penalty is a one-way punishment, and considering how many have been cleared of charges after being convicted, is a punishment that is unjust, and should be abolished.
Innocent until proven guilty is in short supply these days; you 'know-it-all judge, jury, and executioners' should see what it's like to be on the other side of falsified evidence, corrupt officials, and a court system swayed by money. A few years ago, an FBI DNA lab was under investigation for falsifying hundreds of results, several judges were found to be taking bribes in the southeast, and Miami-Dade county police were found to be intimidating and obstructing anyone who wanted to file complaints about officers.
I'm saddened to see how much faith you put in government, when it's comprised of imperfect people. Any irreversible punishment has no place in the US, or the world. Anyone who thinks that capital punishment is a good idea is obviously very sheltered, or stupid. Or both.' - Guy
QFA
'well', I hope you aren't serious... how would you like it if the FBI came up to your house and took you away to a remote military base without a lawyer, outside contact, and abused you?
And no, I'm not a liberal.
everythng may do something, increase the dose, situation resolved.
I cannot get over how people in this world want to humanely execute a criminal that kidnapps someone, rapes them then slowly chops them into little pieces. Or how about someone that shoots another person just for the money in the other person's pocket or shoes? Come on get real. Criminals are criminals. They do not deserve any better than what they give out. I agree the constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment but if we fail to enforce the laws that keep our society working the way it does then we will have no society. Allowing someone to kill another person without consequence is absurd. Yes we are putting that person to death but it is by following rules the society as a whole has adopted and lives by. People who have no backbone or stomach to hold others accountable are simply an embarassment to the human race. Come on and get real.
death by injections.. wow!
i never would of thought of killing somecbody by injecting somebody with 3 chemicals whether they are lethal or not i believe that they are really going a bit to far. but what you need to do is what you need to do.
so whether or not it will eventually have to happen and i rather get a shot than hung or decapitated or however they do it now a days.
this is really not shocking... not at all. the man or woman comitted a crime and got sentenced to death row and they new they had it coming and they cant say they didnt.
if you commit the crime you need to do the time even if that means suffocating whilst the heart stops beating and you are paralyzes and your lungs are constricted. it is there fault after all and there is no hiding it.
maybe they should think twice. if they are a convicted murder then they are convicted. sorry for the opposing commenters but that how it happens.
end of story.
what Big Dave is forgetting is innocent people, who were wrongly convicted, death is bad enough...
actually the United States has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with Texas home to several of the world's most violent cities in the civilized world. Explain that!
What the article needs to address is not the lethal injections but the prison system in general for being cruel and unusual. The US society jams more and more inmates into under qualified jails across the nation. The prisoner gets released into a society that won't give them jobs and their lives back. I think that's a little bit more cruel and unusual than execution process. Rendering a person incapacitated only to die is no different than shocking animals to knock them out to be slaughered.
And for those jerk off posters who love to bring the the Middle East, how much crime do they have compared to the US? I'd much rather have my head lopped off than to be taserd or poisoned to death.
In some ways our society is kinder than it used to be. We no longer lynch the closest black man we can get our hands on. We no longer have an official institution of slavery. We are no longer committing genocide on the Native Americans to get their land. We still welcome illegal Mexican and South American slave labor ... you don't have to go far to find rich people with illegal alien maids in their homes. Use of the electric chair has declined. Public hangings, garrotting, burning at stake, etc, are shut down. Yes, we still have ignorant bigots that call for these things and look to the 'cowboy justice' of television for their preferred reality. Well, there are still societies like that. Iraq is like that. Perhaps those who prefer a society like Iraq's could go there instead of inflicting us with their KKK David Duke intelligences. Unfortunately, Bush seems to have a similar inferior sense of morality, science, and humanity ... taking his cue from Rambo movies. There may not be any vastly better places but America has not yet become that land of liberty to which we should aspire. Torturing our suspected enemies is downward mobility. Making sure the Justice Department is just that is a step forward.
'Cruel and Unusual' has a point about the prison system being just that. Just as in capital punishment where people thoughtlessly advocate yet more horrific slaughter of the convicted, people thoughtlessly call for yet worse treatment of the prison population. I think it's fine if prisoners are required to work to earn their keep but it is our responsibility and it reflects upon our society when prisons are examples of an open festering wound in society, of hell on earth. I just read some article about some very young boy they finally had to transfer to another prison because he was getting raped every day. Something is really wrong there. And why is it so generally the case that prisoners have access to the same drugs found on the streets? Sadism is not a good thing. It should not be institutionally encouraged. Prisons may certainly be viewed as a sub-section of society but they are part of our society and an expression of our values. They are not *another* society. They are part of our society. All those that return into the wider population have received a kind of training there. What are we training people for? The apocalypse?
I bet their victims didnt have it as good. They deserve to suffer.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world Blind. Why not just lock the criminals who commit murders for the rest of their lives . I am sure it will not cost more than the stupid war in Iraq.The death sentence has not reduced crime.
My heart goes out to those who who are wrongfully convicted, and placed on death row. May they have a next life, a long healthy and happy life, and have no recollection of the wrong that has been done to them.
As for those who are truly guilty of their crimes, they should be fed to Komodo dragons. I hear those creatures can feast like hell.
Who gives them the right to die pain free.
I don't think you can die without some pain!
Heavy comments and interesting thoughts as i read each opinion one by one...
Thereīs no way around it... As humans try their best to live in a peace free world we are reminded that, for the moment, it is only an illusion and we must deal with the present.
Taking a life is taking a life. There is no right way of doing it and some one up the chain must do it in the most organized way even if it means that corruption and errors are built in it. Sad to say but some or many innocent people will be caught in this slaughter of criminals. Itīs something that must!! happen in order to keep some order in our true chaos. Human law is controlled chaos.
No government can take care of all the criminals in a prison or detention center. It will have a serious social, economic and moral consequences with human society. The innocent take care of the criminals in our prisons. More mouths to feed means more problems for the innocent.
We are taught since we are born that if we do 'something bad' we will recieve the equiavalent punishment are sometimesour brothers and sisters are caught in the cross fire becuase even our parents arenīt perfect.
We cannot even try to expect a perfect government that are filled with imperfect humans are us the readers.
No one wants the be the person injecting the needle or pulling the trigger but those who do sleep uneasy knowing that there is a possibilty one of the dead was innocent.
And those who do not have the responsibility of taking lives write and talk against it since you cannot imagine the responsibility.
I challange all those who speak against death penalties to adopt a death row mate. Take him/her as one of your own in your house. You decide how to end his/her life and then take back the body or the living person to the morgue or society and you will be responsible of his/her future actions. You know what lets make īmore realistic. Adopt 5 or 10 of them since there too many waiting. You will also be helping society by giving us a break of paying for thei daily meals and rent free lifes.
I cannot agree/disagree since it is something that must happen. Since we live in an imperfect world, it is unavoidable.
All i got to say about the dead innocent is if it were a religious person, he/she doesnīt have a worry in a world. If he/she was a rightious person he/she will be welcomed by God, whatīs better than being with God?
And if the person didnīt have a beliefe in the world he/she has to die knowing they played a very important part in keeping our childrens future as safe as possible but also with the same risks.
Thereīs no philosophy in this. Thereīs not much to think about except to do our best not to kill the innocent. We can only be realistic about it and live with it.
get to work people.
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EdApr 24th, 2007 - 19:02:45
Have any of them complained later ?
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