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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Lethal Injection No Good - It Can Cause Pain Before Death | |
| 2007-04-25 | |
| The drugs used to execute prisoners in the United States sometimes fail to work as planned, causing slow and painful deaths that probably violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment, a new medical review of dozens of executions concludes. More funding! More research! Even when administered properly, the three-drug lethal injection method appears to have caused some inmates to suffocate while they were conscious and unable to move, instead of having their hearts stopped while they were sedated, scientists said in a report published Monday by the online journal PLoS Medicine. My dog only got one drug, and she didn't seem to suffer.... No scientific groups have ever validated that lethal injection is humane, the authors write. Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions. The study concluded that the typical "one-size-fits-all" doses of anesthetic do not take into account an inmate's weight and other key factors. Some inmates got too little, and in some cases, the anesthetic wore off before the execution was complete, the authors found. Did any of them get too much? I say the study's incomplete. "You wouldn't be able to use this protocol to kill a pig at the University of Miami" without more proof that it worked as intended, said Teresa Zimmers, a biologist there who led the study. How many pigs would expire in your gathering of proof, Teresa? Would any of them suffer? Did any of them murder their fellow pigs? The journal's editors call for abolishing the death penalty, writing: "There is no humane way of forcibly killing someone." Tell that to the criminals, moron. Lethal injection has been adopted by 37 states as a cheaper and more humane alternative to electrocution, gas chambers and other execution methods. But 11 states have suspended its use after opponents alleged it is ineffective and cruel. The issue came to a head last year in California, when a federal judge ordered that doctors assist in killing Michael Morales, convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl. Doctors refused, and legal arguments continue in the case. In 2005 alone, at least 2,148 people were killed by lethal injection in 22 countries, especially China, where fleets of mobile execution vans are used, the editors write, citing Amnesty International figures. Of the 53 executions in the United States in 2006, all but one were by lethal injection. That report was criticized for its methodology, which relied on blood samples taken from prisoners hours after executions.
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| Posted by:Bobby |
| #18 Vendetta is only held in check until the people figure out that there are other alternatives to dealing through the state. Notice how vendetta features so prominently throughout the MME (Muslim Middle East), and just how crapulently their governments function. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-25 21:08 |
| #17 |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-04-25 21:07 |
| #16 In a 'civilized state' there'd be no murders. A little history. Back when the king was trying to establish his and a central authority, the state stepped into the process commonly referred to as vendetta. An eye for an eye, a brother for a brother. To end the cycle of violence among its citizenry, the state assumed responsibility of justice by retaining the death penalty in criminal cases as a third disinterested party. If the state today refuses to carry out its obligation because it feels it is 'uncivilized', then expect the citizens to seek redress elsewhere and the return of vendetta. Ever read Romeo and Juliet? Ever see the first scenes from the Godfather? Notice the gang turf killings in the news? Vendetta is only held in check until the people figure out that there are other alternatives to dealing through the state. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-04-25 20:39 |
| #15 Strap them down, put an air mask over their face, and fill it with helium. They'll never know what hit them because they'll pass out very suddenly with no discomfort or pain after about 15 seconds. I suppose they'd stop breathing after a minute, and then be brain dead in another five. Anybody who doesn't like it can try it for themselves. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-25 18:47 |
| #14 The journal's editors call for abolishing the death penalty, writing: "There is no humane way of forcibly killing someone." Just like there's no "humane way" for me to force rotten leftovers down my garbage disposal. What's the point here? Whatever few moments of pain an executed convict experiences — no matter how excruciating — is as nothing compared to the lifetime of pain that the survivors of a murdered relative undergo. One must outweigh the other lest we lose all value for human dignity. My only problem with the death penalty is that it takes too long to carry out and costs so much to implement. Machiavelli once mentioned how capital punishment must be applied swiftly such that public outrage over the criminal act would not have time to subside. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-25 18:29 |
| #13 This has rendered the death penalty, and it's currently favored delivery methods, an inaqequate deterrent. It preventgs reincidence. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-04-25 17:44 |
| #12 Don't feed him? The lefties'd love that! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-04-25 16:05 |
| #11 I'm probably cutting across the grain here but in light of the more "civilized" delivery methods, I don't support the death penalty. As I see it, the problem with the death penalty is that those who committ capital crimes seem to place little, if any, value on their own life nowadays. This has rendered the death penalty, and it's currently favored delivery methods, an inaqequate deterrent. I think those who commit a capital crime would be better deterred with a more tangible punishment than death. The problem with capital punishment is that you lose your life but there's no pain involved, relatively speaking and the contents of this article not withstanding. In order to deter crime, it is essential that the criminal explicitly understand the price for committing it, and that price should be very high for capital crimes, naturally. People who committ capital crimes usually have little to live for anyways, so losing their own life ranks relatively low on the price scale. I believe a life sentence of back-breaking hard labor with no creature comforts to speak of might actually prove more effective. In my opinion, it would be more tangible to a criminal who doesn't place a high value on their own life much less those of others. The question becomes, what do you do to a convict who refuses to work? I'm still working on an answer to that one. |
| Posted by: eltoroverde 2007-04-25 15:13 |
| #10 Given the choice I'd take a blindfold, some conversation, and a surprise bullet to the head. Of course it *looks* terrible so it would never go (ask the head of Saigon Police circa 1968). |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-04-25 14:46 |
| #9 Stabbin' 'em won't cost a dime... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2007-04-25 13:36 |
| #8 They say a bullet in the medulla is instantaneous... |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-04-25 13:24 |
| #7 I recall when greenies and anti-death penalty (except in the case of inconveniently timed, unborn baby) advocates held up an gas chamber execution at San Quentin by claiming the toxic emissions violated EPA standards. My proposed solution was to install another seat, thereby cutting emissions in half, like, today. Put Charlie Manson in the other seat. Win-win-win, baby! Anybody want to take a shot at world hunger this afternoon? |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2007-04-25 11:33 |
| #6 Ya know I almost cared! |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2007-04-25 10:39 |
| #5 I miss Old Sparky. |
| Posted by: imoyaro 2007-04-25 10:05 |
| #4 But 11 states have suspended its use after opponents alleged it is ineffective and cruel. Another example of the imperial judiciary and their anti-democratic allies ignoring what the Founders meant by cruel and unusual. Remember a 'living' constitution is just another way of saying "we're making this up as we go along" and the "constitution" is just a term or icon for the exercise of power. They want to terminate the death penalty no matter how great the wishes of the people are. Lip service to democracy or representative government. What was the pain and suffering of the criminal's victims? That is the only measure of concern involved in these cases. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-04-25 09:17 |
| #3 Try Drano. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-04-25 08:54 |
| #2 Mike - you mean, off with his head!;) |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-04-25 08:36 |
| #1 Guess we'll just have to go back to hanging, then. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-04-25 07:24 |