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Oklahoma Vows Review of Botched Execution

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by YankeeFan, May 1, 2014.

  1. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    I can't say I feel sorry for him, but I don't like the idea of a government lowering itself to his level in The People's name. The problem, other than the death penalty itself, is states are trying to improvise lethal injection drugs because they can't their hands on the real things. Lockett's death already had been delayed for that reason.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/18/oklahoma-execution-drugs-lethal-injection/6569749/
     
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Oh, yeah. That works wonderfully.
     
  3. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    There's a sadistic crumb inside that says you don't mind that he suffered before dying. The sadistic side of you almost *hopes* the person/people who administered the drug knew what they were doing and made him suffer.

    That being said, if we're going to continue to execute people we should make it simple: firing squad. Couple bullets -- one to the heart, one to the head. Just get it over with.
     
  4. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Because of how long it takes, given the appeal process, the death penalty is never going to be what it's advocates want it to be -- quick retribution for the crime committed, and a strong deterrent against future crime.

    Its most meaningful use remains as a bargaining chip for prosecutors.

    Given that, and factoring in the difficulty of administering it (literally administering it, as fewer companies are willing to manufacture and/or sell the drugs needed), the cost, and the political opposition, both at home and abroad, I think it will become easier for folks to drop their support for it.
     
  5. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    All of this comes as a study posits at least 4 percent of those getting the death penalty are innocent.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/death-penalty-study-4-percent-defendants-innocent
     
  6. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    This is a big sticking point for me. Because of the length of time between the act and the execution, the person punished is frequently not the person who committed the crime, if that makes sense.
     
  7. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    And then refusing to divulge the origin of the drugs under the guise of protecting the suppliers. Most of the drugs had come from Europe, where companies are now actively refusing to sell to prison systems for fear of their drugs being what they consider misused.

    In this particular case, Oklahoma gave the guy a dose that was a fifth of what Florida uses of the same drug, although they countered that it was twice that used for neurosurgery. I'm inclined to think that even with a blown vein, the Florida dosage might well have been enough to kill him on its own.

    And on those lines, I'm not sure why more states haven't gone to the massive barbiturate overdose, which has much less risk of causing pain than the three-drug protocol involving a paralytic and then a drug to stop the heart. If the sedative fails or wears off, then the paralytic is still in effect but the inmate can feel the pain of the heart-stopping drug.

    I'm also wondering whether we'll ever find out what happened after the curtain was closed -- did they try to revive Lockett before or during the eventual fatal heart attack? Not sure anything could have been done at that stage, but someone needs to find out.
     
  8. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    This is pretty much where I have evolved to on the issue.

    I do think death is an appropriate punishment for some crimes, I just don't think our government should be in the position of executing its citizens. It is barbaric.

    It is satisfying on a certain level, but I'm not sure it makes us a better people. There should be no celebration in the pain or death of any individual at the hands of the State.
     
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Knowing what I know about criminal justice, I'm actually surprised it's that low. I certainly would venture that way more murder convictions, among those that go to trial, particularly when guns are the weapon of choice, than that 4 percent figure are wrongfully administered. I would guess 10-20 percent.

    I'm pretty out there on this. I would get rid of juries as we know them, for example.
     
  10. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    It does. And, with the passage of time, our own immediate desire for retribution should lessen.

    Certainly punishment, and removal from society is in order for these crimes. But, do we need the satisfaction of having them put to death?
     
  11. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Our government, along with several others around the world, has made clear its willingness, under certain extreme circumstances, to kill every last person on the planet, without any of the 7 billion victims having been convicted of any crime.

    Under those circumstances I can't get too worked up about individual criminals convicted of horrendous crimes after lengthy appeals and trial processes.
     
  12. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    There have been hundreds of people exonerated of horrendous crimes whose convictions were upheld after lengthy appeals trial processes.
     
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