Why Is The Electric Chair Wrong

Some of the countries and states still have the electric chair, firing range, and even the hanging squad. One of the states that still had the electric chair was Nebraska. Nebraska, the only state with the electric chair as the primary method of execution, determined on February 8, 2008 that it was cruel and unusual punishment under the state's constitution, and the United States constitution. Prisoners are no longer electrocuted in Nebraska, and now the state has no method of execution. A survey of experts from the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Law and Society Association showed that the overwhelming majority did not believe that the death penalty is a proven deterrent to homicide. (Radelet & Akers, 1995)

The death penalty is something many people face each day . There is approximately 1,188 people that were executed in the U.S from 1977 through 2009 . There are many ways on how to execute someone, but primarily we use the lethal injection. The way people are trailed and put on the death penalty, is because of the involvement with first degree of murder, or other crimes. Proponents say that the death penalty is an important tool for preserving law and order. They also argue a term “an eye for an eye” which means that it helps the families grieving, and ensure that they don’t release back to the public for future tragedy. The people against the death penalty say that it is wrong to take a human life, and has no effect on crime. Many of the death row inmates prefer death over life in prison. They say that many death row inmates have been volunteering for their executions. Over 75 inmates have volunteered for their death sentence. This is called a state-assisted suicide. Many inmates said that they would rather gamble on being executed than having life parole. Many inmates say that they spend over a decade awaiting execution. Some prisoners have been in death row for 20 years. They usually are isolated from other prisoners and spend as much as 23 hours alone in their cells. The two punishments they receive other than the death penalty is the living conditions they live in prison. They are usually in a state where they would be executed and,

Worded perfectly by The Scientific American, a magazine analyzing controversial issues in America said, “About two thirds of the states use a combination of barbituric, paralytic and toxic agents for executions, despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness.” The procedure is still subject to FDA approval, the agency has avoided questions ruling on the mixtures efficacy in “delivering a merciful death” (citation). This brings to light a harsh topic: is lethal injection truly cruel and unusual? Human Rights Watch is an international non government aided organization dedicated to protecting and establishing the appearance of human rights around the world. The report the HRW released, “So Long as They Die: Lethal Injection in the United States” (citation) The report highlighted a fact not a lot of people consider, “Prisoners in the United States are executed by means that the American Veterinary Medical Association regards as too cruel to use on cats and dogs.” A lot of the civilians who simply only read about death

The execution style of the electric chair was first used on convicted murderer William Francis Kemmler on August 6th, 1890. The use of electricity is a more modern style of execution. The idea of using electricity to end someone's life was invented to seek a more “humane” method rather than lynching people. Once Kemmler was executed in New York, other states at the time rapidly adopted this new style of execution. It was used up until 2008 by Nebraska until the Supreme Court ruled that the use of the electric chair was “unconstitutional.” For execution using the electric chair, the criminal is usually shaved and placed in a chair with belts that cross his/her chest, groin, legs, and arms. Then, a metal cap shaped like a skull, electrode is attached to the head and a sponge moistened with saline. However, the sponge cannot be too wet or the saline short-circuits the electric current, and cannot be too dry, because then it would have a high resistance. Next, an additional electrode is moistened with electro-creme (conductive jelly) and is then attached to the victim’s leg that was shaved to reduce the resistance of electricity. The prisoner is then blindfolded. A perfect example of how the electric chair works is depicted in The Green Mile. Although it does succeed in killing the criminal, the use of electricity is considered inhumane and the victim takes a while to die. While using the electric chair may not be the best way of executing a criminal, in case of a state or government not being able to obtain lethal injection, the electric chair could be brought back again for

“And despite scientific efforts to implement capital punishment in a "humane" fashion, time and again executions have resulted in degrading spectacles, including the botched lethal injection in April 2014 that took more than 40 minutes to kill Oklahoma inmate Clayton Derrell Lockett and prompted Glossip v. Gross” (Heyns and Mendez). Capital punishment is an inhumane and outdated way for punishing criminals. The use of capital punishment is hundreds of years old in America. It is used as a punishment for criminals who have committed a violent crime in which they physically harm others. The point of the death penalty is to show that these kinds of crimes are not tolerated, and to deter criminals from committing these kinds of crimes. Unfortunately

The eighth amendment claims that there would be no cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, Williams writes, “In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended the death penalty on the grounds it violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment (2011, 2)”. Supporters of this do not believe that it is fair to kill someone for a crime. The most common forms of executions in the United States are lethal injection, electrocution, and lethal gas. People believe that these ways of execution are in humane, and according to Williams article -- The Cost of Punishment -- “has no place in society”. Also, people who argue the death penalty say that it is a costly alternative to life sentencing in prison. ( quoted material from argues side cost of punishment.) It also says that on average it only takes twenty thousand dollars to keep an inmate in jail for a year, While the death punishment requires much more money to carry out. Whether it be because of the violation of the eighth amendment, or the cost to carry out, the death penalty is not in agreement with all of the American

South Carolina is one of thirty one states in our country that utilizes the death penalty (DPIC, 2015). There are currently forty-four death row inmates in the state of South Carolina as of July 1, 2015 (DPIC, 2015). This population resides at Lieber Correctional Institute, a level 3 maximum security prison, in Ridgeville South Carolina (SCDC, 2015). There have been a total of 684 individuals put to death in our state’s history (DPIC, 2015). A choice between lethal injection and electrocution are the two active methods used in South Carolina by a means of execution for death row inmates (DPIC, 2015). This population consists of murderers, physical and sexual assaulters, abusers, and the aggressors of our society. They have made choices and

The death penalty has been around for centuries. It dates back to when Hammurabi had his laws codified; it was “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Capital punishment in America started when spies were caught, put on trial and hung. In the past and still today people argue that, the death penalty is cruel, unusual punishment and should be illegal. Yet many people argue that it is in fact justifiable and it is not cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is not cruel and unusual; the death penalty is fair and there is evidence that the death penalty deters crime. 
A big part of abolitionist’s argument is that the death penalty is not humane. They pull in Amendment 8, “…nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” What the victim went though was indeed “cruel and unusual punishments’.” The murderers’ death is not cruel. The people will demand justice for what he or she has done (Bidinotto 19). Hanging and the electric chair are topics more reasonable to argue, but now because of lethal injection capital punishment has become more humane. The death penalty is not barbaric, the pain and agony that the victim went through is barbaric. Abolitionists were very upset in 1996 when rapist and murderer John Albert Taylor was executed by firing squad; they said his death was barbaric (Feder 32). Charla King, the poor 11-year-old girl he raped and strangled with a telephone cord, her death was barbaric! It makes no sense to think that John

In Louisiana in 1988, Wayne Robert Felde was sentenced to be put to death by means of electric chair. The procedure began proceeding as normal, but Mr.Felde did not die quickly. Due to a form of malfunction, the instrument did not proceed enough voltage to properly execute him. Rather, a sizeable chunk of skin on the side of his head proceeded to melt off, exposing the bone of the skull in the process (Bufacchi and Fairrie). This is a rather common occurrence, and one of the reasons that the death penalty is a violation of the eighth amendment. According to Fred Leutcher, the prisoners often choke, cough, and spasm as they die (Bufacci and Fairrie). In 1990, Jessie Taffero was put to death via the electric chair. The only problem, however, was that the first jolts of electricity caused his hair to catch on fire, simultaneously suffocating him inside of his hood and baking his head at the same time (Bufacci and Fairrie). The electric chair is not the only method with problems, however. “Sometimes there is a problem with the veins or the prisoner doesn’t cooperate, and then it is very difficult” (Bufacci and

Now there is a question to if they should stop and go back to old school ways, using the electric chair. This is because the lethal injections are easier, but they cost much more money. In Flordia of 1976-2000 each execution has costed up to 24million dollars (Dieter, Richard C.). The economy has collapsed and the US cannot afford the outrageous prices. The people who were making the poison for the injections were not from the US, they also did not realize what we were using it for. The intended purpose for the poison was not to kill people intentionally, but to have a easier way to die. The US are not the only people having trouble with way to kill people on death row. In 1789 the French were having a Revolution of their own people, this lead to many deaths. What famous killing machine that came out of the revolution was the guillotine, this was a wooden frame holding a large blade in the air. People would place their heads at the bottom of the contraption and the blade would drop, cutting off their head. This lead to the French people going mad, they were killing peasant people one after another and soon their own king and queen would get beheaded. The US never adopted this form of killing due to the history of its use and the mess it makes to kill people that way. When Hitler took over and started killing Jews with the gas chambers he killed many people at once. With all this history of killing people it tends to make other countries go crazy with power. The death penalty supports the want to kill other as revenge for the crimes they’ve committed. This was why Christians had the “Thou Shall Not Kill” rule showing people forgiveness as the Christian way and saving people's lives so they can

Arkansas and Oklahoma laws provide for its use should deadly injection ever be held to be (going against something in the Constitution), for this type of execution the person usually is shaved and strapped to a chair with belts that cross his/her chest, groin, legs, and arms. A metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to the scalp and forehead over a sponge moistened with salt water.Even without any trouble, death (by electricity)s are anything but quick and painless. (as a result) most states with death penalty laws have switched to deadly injection. Only Alabama, Georgia and Nebraska still employ the old (and useless) and terrible and scary method of death (by

Is our government capable of enforcing a final means of punishment upon criminals? Do we have the right to take the life of a criminal? When is it time to exercise lethal leverage, or is the life of criminal not to be ended by our government? These questions are the reason the controversy of capital punishment remains far being settled. With so much money being placed into our nations prisons, and so many victims and their families feeling that the offenses committed against them have gone completely unpunished, we must drop the blade of capital punishment, at full force.

they allowed the electric chair and in other states they use lethal injections. Only four states;

Others say that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. However in most states, the person convicted has a choice between the electric chair or lethal injection. When a person is

The death penalty is faulty in its age and obsolete in its usage, and frankly should be put out of its misery. Capital punishment began its time in the Middle Ages, as people were executed for simply thinking differently from the rest of society. Even now, as we look back on history we find their ways of execution purely barbaric and malicious in all its forms. However, we continue to practice these forms of butchery; the traditional method of execution, hanging, is still an option available in certain states. In addition, couple of states also still allow firing squads, and the electrocution chairs has been readily used throughout the last century. The United States stands as one of the few developed nations with a death penalty still in place. There’s a reason most of the European countries have banned the usage of death as punishment, it’s cruel, unusual and barbaric! Is that the image the U.S. wants to portray the alling regions, one of intolerance and unforgiveness? The United States surpasses those barbaric ways, with its exceedingly advanced ways and state-of-the-art technology, yet it’s one of the only countries left of the Western world that still has