So Long As They Die: Lethal Injection

In this article it states what all methods are used for the death penalty. In Eight states it allows electrocution (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia). Three states it allows the gas chamber (Arizona, Missouri, and Wyoming). Three other states allow hanging (Delaware, New Hampshire, and Washington). Two other states allow the firing squad (Oklahoma and Utah), though only Oklahoma is the one that uses it. Utah allowed that option before it was banned in 2004.

The State of Texas was the first to perform a lethal injection execution and it is ranked first in executions as far back as 1976. Approximately, there have been over two hundred and eighty death penalties and a hundred and sixteen executions from 1982. Lethal injection involves injecting one or a variety of drugs into the person for the main cause of immediate death to him or her ("Texas | Death Penalty Information Center"). Characteristically, three drugs have been used. Sodium thiopental is an anesthesia which causes sleep, injecting with pancuronium bromide for paralysis of the muscles and to cause respiratory failure and the potassium chloride stops the heart from pumping. An intravenous salty drip is started in the arm of the prisoner

"More than 4,500 people have been executed in the United States since 1930. There is no way of knowing how many have been executed in U.S. history because executions were often local affairs, with no central agency keeping track of them (Maloney, 1999)." Over 4,500 people were executed and this doesn't even include the unreported deaths. Decades ago, death penalty cases were not even to be reported in many times. For many years, people have been rationalize themselves for death penalty as " an eye for an eye"(2010).This "eye for an eye" statement is no longer giving any excuses for killing humans. The controversial idea of whether humans are rational enough to decide someone's life or death has been questioned. Humans absolutely don't have

Each county was responsible to carry out executions on their own until in 1923, when the state implemented a law saying executions should be done through electrocutions in Huntsville (Champagne). This violated the Eighth Amendment because the criminals felt the pain of being electrocuted. As a result, in 1977, the state required that lethal injection be the sole method of execution in Texas (Champagne). Although the lethal injection was to be painless and that it was created for the benefit of the criminal, it still violates The Eighth Amendment because it is inhumane. The crime done by the prison cannot be justified by taking the prisoner’s life. Capital punishment takes the like of a person, and what can be taken can never be taken back anymore. In 2011, the drug they used in the lethal injection had to be changed from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital because of the international attention and protestations it received in the United States (Champagne). The issues concerning pentobarbital as part of the three-drug cocktail in the lethal injection arose when officials did not want to say the source where they are getting their pentobarbital from (Dart). When Texas had to execute a man this April using new batches of pentobarbital, protestors claimed that because of the source’s lack of authenticity, it was possible that “an excessively painful execution”

Lethal injections have been around for many years with the same basic idea and procedure. Lethal injection uses three drugs, a fast acting barbiturate that sedates the inmate and the drug Tubocurarine that paralyzes the inmate, and finally potassium chloride is used to stop his heart. These methods have been a controversial issue for many reasons. People that supports lethal injection believes that it is more humane method of execution than any other because it cause little or no pain. It also argued that it is less expensive than detaining or placing someone in jail for life. As far as lethal injection been unconstitutional because the procedure causes unusual pain and suffering, some people believe that someone who has kill countless people deserve to physical

“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

Could that be considered cruel and unusual punishment? This is one valid argument that people make. That is why it is important for the commission to look at the constitutionality of the death penalty. If lethal injection truly is cruel and unusual then that would be illegal in the eyes of the federal government. Nobody has the authority to go

Lethal injection is the practice of killing a death row inmate by using a lethal dose of drugs, however, the many problems with lethal injection include it not resulting in an immediate death, the lack of available drugs, and complaints from inmates. In fact, executions using lethal injection have lasted over 20 minutes, with the inmate moaning, convulsing, and gasping for air. A federal judge in Mississippi blocked lethal injection executions after 2 death row prisoners claimed it to be "chemical torture." Also, lawyers of death row prisoners in Tennessee argued that lethal injection is unconstitutional because of the horrendous and painful deaths that results from this method of execution. On the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that "the Constitution does not require the avoidance of all risk of pain." The opposition argues that there is no right or wrong way to execute death row prisoners, whether or not lethal injection is humane, these prisoners are going to and should be executed for the crimes they have committed. In this case, the most sense would to be to choose the cheapest and most effective method of execution, which is not lethal injection. Drugs can no longer be purchased from European drug makers but now have to be purchased from American pharmacists where these specific drugs are not subject to the Food and Drug Administration. These pharmacists are also displeased with trade

The controversy issue is due to the medical moral dilemma (Maerz, 2009). Lethal injection requires the administration of professional doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists. The U.S. constitution require the execution to be humane, the American Board of Anesthesiology prohibits anesthesiologists to participate (George, 2011). Medical professionals do not want to participate in the execution due to critics. Abolitionists think that it is against the medical professionals to administer lethal injection or to have any involvement as it is viewed as going against the Hippocratic oath, American Medial Association, and the American Board of Anesthesiology (Maerz, 2009). The distress faced by the medical team has led a few professionals to have any involvement with the death penalty. If professionals do not administer the drug then unqualified individuals will have to carry out the execution. The issue with allowing non-medical individuals participate is the little education obtained and little experience resulting in poor quality in the execution (George, 2011). Medical professionals know the amount of substance the inmate is to be injected with and where on the vein (Maerz, 2009). Anesthesiologists make sure the inmate is anesthetized before proceeding to the following step. States have tried to keep the identity of medical professionals involved confidential to

2014 was the worst year in the 37th year history of the lethal injection. That year four executions were reported as problematic. For example on the evening of July 23, 2014, Joseph Rudolph Wood III was killed at the Florence State Penitentiary in Arizona. Wood was first convicted in 1989. He awaited the day of his execution for over 15 years. The day finally came. The execution of Wood began at exactly 1:52 MST. His death was supposed to be fast, painless, and most importantly, instantaneous. This did not actually happen that day. What was supposed to be a ten minute procedure, lasted over two whole excruciating, agonizing, two hour, of his life. The “deadly” drug cocktail that was injected into his body that

Lethal injection is now almost the main method of execution in the US, with all but one of the 39 executions carried out during 2013 being by this method. Deadly injection changes from state to state.Normally, the prisoner is strapped to a gurney or a fixed execution table, rather than an operating room table by leather or webbing straps over the body and legs. All the chemicals used in the USA are standard medical drugs. Sodium thiopental is an ultra short acting barbiturate which was used widely as an anaesthetic and causes unconsciousness very quickly if injected into a vein."Capital punishment is supposed to serve the purposes of social defense and retribution. The argument that it deters or incapacitates dangerous offenders was not conclusively supported, and analysis of data herein failed to provide solid evidence for the death penalty as a mechanism of social defense."(Sorensen & Pilgrim,2006 , p.159)

“Harding’s death was extremely violent. He was in great pain. I heard him gasp and moan. I saw his body turn from red to purple.” Carla McClain, a newspaper reporter, witnessed the execution of Donald Eugene Harding on April 6, 1992 by asphyxiation. Of the same execution television journalist, Cameron Harper, said, “Harding’s spasms and jerks lasted 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Obviously, this man was suffering. This was a violent death….an ugly event. We put animals to death more humanely.”

Capital Punishment is usually reserved for the country's most vicious and non-rehabilitatable murderers. These men and women actually will know the day they die; albeit not naturally. These Inmates will be put to death by a U.S. state, the federal government, or the U.S. military. The most common method of execution is lethal injection. Lethal injection is used in some states in conjunction with the less popular hanging, electrocution, lethal gas, and shooting squad methods. But, in recent times these antiquated methods are used as a backup in case of shortage of the drugs required for lethal injection. Large pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, have no longer been selling their drugs to correctional institutions for

The way we carry out these executions is by lethal injection, which is much more humane than any ways we have carried it out in historical times (McCuen 27). A prison official had claimed, “The guy will just go to sleep forever. It will be easy-real easy” (49). He says said this when referring to a man who was on death row. By using lethal injection, the United States is ridding itself of criminals, and is carrying it out in the most humane way possible (Kurtz). Professor John McAdams of Marquette University said, “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 murderers, 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” (Marzilli 21).

Crime in this society is increasing day by day. We often hear news of rape, murder and terrorist attacks which destroy the lives of millions of people. What do you think about all the crimes that are happening in this world? What can we do or is there any way to make this world safer place? There is an obvious and urgent need to control crime because there are many countries in which crime rate is very high. There is an ongoing dispute on capital punishment in courts, state legislatures, TV shows and other media. Some people say it helps in reducing crime, while others are opponents of it, since they argue it is cruel and we have no right to end human life. As a result, almost 68 countries abolished capital punishment, but there are many nations in which it is still legal and majority of executions are now performed in China, Pakistan, Iran, India, United States and Saudi Arabia (Babcock 1-5). It is absolutely right that no one has the right to end human life, but the question which arises here is why should the criminals lead an easy life and why we should be at their mercy, who ruined life of others, and who themselves have no mercy? I am not saying every crime deserves strict punishment, if anybody do robbery does not need any harsh punishment, but heinous crimes definitely deserve capital punishment. From the many