The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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.

While execution methods have changed throughout the years each means of elimination has proved to be some form of violence. Some examples include a firing squad in which the criminal was shot to death, electric chair in which the criminal is shocked to death, public hanging where the criminal’s neck is snapped or choked to death, and most commonly used now, lethal injection, which administers a three drug system supposedly similar to putting down an old dog. It has been thought that lethal injection would surpass the eighth amendment because many thought the drugs were unable to harm those who would be effected. However, in Oklahoma there was Layton Lockett’s botched execution, in which he woke up and suffered in immense pain until he finally died. This occurred because of multiple reasons, the first being the use of a new drug and the second, was that the drug had being administered by someone with no medical training. Shortly after this occurred there were 21 individuals who filed civil rights cases arguing that lethal injections were a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Unfortunately, because the execution was only seen as an accident, lethal injection was not considered cruel because it could not prove that the action caused serious illness or needless suffering. The death penalty is inconsistent and unreliable both physically and within processes. Executions

     A perfect example of the death penalty going awry is the state of Illinois. Former governor George Ryan has put a stay on all executions. This came as a result of finding thirteen death row inmates not guilty of their convicted crimes. Also, by staying

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”

Unfortunately and likely from the lack of medical experiences when performing executions, there have been several documented botched executions since the Gregg v. Georgia decision which re-constitutionalized the death penalty. There have been 47 total botched executions including 35 by lethal injection and 1 attempted execution by lethal injection. Although the Supreme Court in Baze v. Rees state that isolated mishaps alone do not violate the Eighth Amendment, it is hard to see how the botched executions do not violate the Eighth amendment of the individual in question. For example in several instances, the executioners were unable to find an adequate vein which often required constant probing and stabbing. As a testament to the lack of medical

Constitutional. The death penalty itself has been proven unconstitutional through in depth studies. There has been a number of cases in which the convict is improperly executed. For instance, the case Glossip v. Gross was created because of a botched execution, unfortunately it was not ruled as a violation of the Constitution. “In June the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Glossip v. Gross that Oklahoma's use of the sedative midazolam in lethal injections did not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishments” (Heyns and Mendez). There has been many other cases with a similar situation to this. The death penalty is not considered cruel and unusual, but due to circumstances in the past there is reason to believe that is not true. Many of the most recent incidents of cruel and unusual punishment was caused by lethal injections. The injections are meant to be the most humane way of killing the inmate, however it obvious in many situations that the killing is not humane. For example, cases have been reported of botched lethal injections, “The cross-country battle over lethal injection methods has taken on added importance since last year, when inmates in Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona gasped, moaned or writhed in pain during the administration of a three-drug cocktail including the sedative midazolam” (Wolf and Johnson). Due to what those inmates went through during their

The first medicine given to the inmate who is receiving the lethal injection is called barbiturate anesthetic sodium thiopental (Hooper). This drug is mixed into a liquid form and it is generally prepared by prison staff (Hooper). Because of this drug variability, doctors have stated that they are sure inmates have suffered (Hooper).

In the united states there have been one hundred and sixty two people exonerated from death row since nineteen seventy three. According to deathpenaltyinformation.org (“innocence cases”). Early as last year former death row inmate Isaiah Mccoy was released from death row inmate under the charges of murder “Deputy Attorney General R. David Favata belittled McCoy in front of the jury for choosing to represent himself, made intimidating comments to McCoy during a break in proceedings, then lied to the judge about having made those comments. McCoy waived his right to a jury for his retrial, but was represented by counsel” deathpenaltyinformation.org (“innocence cases”). There was no physical evidence holding Mccoy for the murder upon his release he MCcoy said “ I just want to say to all those out there going through the same thing I'm going through 'keep faith, keep fighting. Two years ago, I was on death row. At 25, I was given a death sentence – and I am today alive and well and kicking and a free man." seeing that a free man was put in jail for a murder he didn't commit and given the death penalty is a scary process I couldn't imagine what McCoy was feeling this is why the death penalty should be

In this article, it talks how the government carries out executions, not merely to its choice of particular execution methods. and execution method such as lethal injection that can be humane in theory and can be carried out by means of flawed or haphazard procedures that create a foreseeable danger of inflicting severe pain in actual practice. Also, it said in the article that over time in the absence of adequate safeguards, such a method of execution will inevitably involve the infliction of gratuitous pain in some executions. The Inflicting gratuitous pain on a subset of condemned prisoners is no more tolerable than inflicting gratuitous pain on all condemned prisoners.

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

The death penalty has been battered backwards and forwards by the questions of abolishment and replacement, with mixed results. There seems to a jagged line in the sand on where people stand, and due to the continuous use today (albeit at a slower clip than in the past), it is still very much a prevalent topic of punishment. Those who argue for it believe that taking it away will take away a great deterrent, that families find peace, and that those who commit egregious crimes deserve only death. Anything less “would fail to do justice because the penalty – presumably a long period in prison – would be grossly disproportionate to the heinousness of the crime” (“Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments,” 2016). Those who don’t believe in this punishment as a modern-day, useful tool of deterrence and punishment for crime, continuously counter these arguments, as well as any others, daily at every turn. Though many states have made it illegal, others placing moratoriums or refusals to use it, the death penalty can still be found active today. But why can’t it be replaced with life without parole, and it if can why should it?

Many states have been executing fewer people in the past decade and some states like Maryland and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment altogether. Many people shake and are repulsed by the live executions they see on television from the Middle East. From all the Western Countries, the United States is the only country that still upholds the death penalty. Even though the death penalty is legal in most states, just a few of them do still carry out executions. Reason for this could be that Americans are somehow okay with the idea of the states using the lethal injection as the best way to put a sick human being to endless sleep. Botched executions have also been exposed as a large problem seemingly unknown to the American public. The drugs that have been used for the lethal injections also seem to be experimental, untested and are sometimes proving to be ineffective at killing prisoners without some form of excruciating pain. Just because the prison is using pharmaceutical drugs does not necessarily mean that this is a painless process. Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, says sceptism of lethal injection is “not driven by sympathy for the defendants, who committed terrible crimes,” but rather, “(the public) doesn’t want to hear gruesome facts,” such as prisoners writhing in agony while strapped to a gurney as their loved one’s watch. When the procedure is botched, it is anything but

553 U.S 35 (2008) set forth an objective test that is for determining whether the death by lethal injection would constitute unusual and cruel punishment. The question that was placed in front of the Supreme Court would be whether the lethal injection presents a substantial risk of causing any serious harm to the convict. If it does, then if the lethal injection would be considered under cruel and unusual punishment. Further, is there an alternative, feasible and more effective procedure that can be used? If there is, then the method used may be in violation of U.S, Const. amend. VIII. A final question is the risk of maladministration. Where this risk is high and readily discernible, then the lethal injection method used would be declared unusual and cruel

The drafting of the Eighth Amendment prohibits government officials from imposing cruel and unusual punishment against individuals. Opponents to the death penalty often describe their methods as cruel and barbaric; however; advocates tend to disagree. Several times during the past year; there have been botched executions. An article published by the Washington Post newspaper cites the flawed execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Clayton Lockett (Bever). The execution of Mr. Lockett by lethal injection was supposed to be quick and painless, but the event went horribly wrong (Bever). During the injection phase of the execution several of Mr. Lockett’s veins exploded (Bever). Without receiving

For that being said, it’s a far-reaching delinquency; therefore, inaccuracy is extremely prohibited. Additionally, not all states have more than one option for execution other than the lethal injection. For this reason, a prisoner doesn’t have an option on the execution method that’ll be brought upon on (Dieter, 2008).