(Photo: CBS)
Capital punishment exists in 31 states for a reason. That is because some people deserve to die. Yes, allow me to repeat that, some people deserve to die.
All 31 states that have the death penalty use lethal injection as their primary method of execution, per the Death Penalty Information Center. The reason is because it is widely considered the most humane way to kill an individual.
Yet, over the past decade or so, advocacy groups have challenged the assumption that death by lethal injection is humane, moreover, they contend that it violates the constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment enshrined in the 8th Amendment.
The result of these advocacy efforts has been lawsuits stonewalling death by lethal injection in various states as well as shortages in the drugs commonly used for lethal injection, e.g. sodium thiopental.
Since killing the worst of the worst by lethal injection has become a real headache, several states have opted to enact laws that contain backup methods when the drugs cannot be sourced. Mississippi is now considering a bill that would add firing squad, electrocution, and gas chamber as options if lethal injection drugs are unavailable.
Known as House Bill 638, the legislation cleared the lower chamber Wednesday and now heads to the Senate.
Republican Rep. Andy Gipson told The Associated Press that House Bill 638 is a response to lawsuits by “liberal, left-wing radicals.”
Mississippi has 47 people currently on death row. Several have been awaiting lethal justice for decades.
“I have a constituent whose daughter was raped and killed by a serial killer over 25 years ago and that person’s still waiting for the death penalty. The family is still waiting for justice,” said Gipson, who also works as an attorney and Baptist pastor.
Oklahoma and Utah currently have death by firing squad as a method of execution. However, Jim Craig, an attorney who is suing Mississippi over lethal injection told the AP that the backup methods on HB 638 are just as problematic as lethal injection and they too would be challenged in court.
“Every single one, in essence, just injects a whole new series of issues in the existing case,” said Craig, who works for the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center.
What’s fascinating is that lethal injection may be less humane than a firing squad. In doing research for this article, I came across this More Perfect podcast, entitled “Cruel and Unusual,” that really delves into the issue.
Witnesses to execution by firing squad, interviewed in the podcast, all attest to the quickness in which the defendants are put to death. Think about it. Five or six competent shooters, all aiming at the heart of the defendant with larger-caliber rifle rounds. At the command to, “fire,” the defendant is dead within fractions of a second. Very little, if any, pain.
Whereas with lethal injections there are stories of botched executions where it appears that the defendants experienced excruciating pain. As one of the contributors in the More Perfect report noted, if the three-drug cocktail doesn’t work to properly numb the patient, the acid component that ultimately kills the defendant gives him or her the sensation as if they were being burned alive from the inside. Sounds painful.
So, it appears that a firing squad is a more humane approach to killing those on death row than compared to lethal injection, according to that podcast.
Yet, in my opinion, and maybe this is just me, I could care less if some deviant murderer or child rapist experiences pain before he descends down into the hearth of hell.
As an unflinching supporter of capital punishment, I’m resigned to the fact that regardless of the method used, it’s always going to contain some level of savagery because savagery is inherent in the act of killing — whether it be by firing squad, lethal injection, electrocution, etc. This needs to be acknowledged. We can’t hide from the truth. We can’t sanitize killing. Attempting to do so only undermines the solemnity of the act. See, it should never be easy for us to kill. But by the same token, killing should never not be an option. As I said before, some people deserve to die.
Anyways, what are your thoughts? Do you support the death penalty? Do you support death by firing squad?
We need the death penalty to remove monsters from society instead of placing them in jails for years breathing our air ,eating our foods and costing millions of tax payers money on their care.
They should have one chose witch way they wish to die Hanging,electrocution,firing squad,or leathal injection. What ever the courts in that state has to offer.
I always thought the way to combat cruel and unusual punishment was to call the criminal to the prison wardens office and tell him he was being pardoned. Then have someone shoot the slimeball in the back of the head with a .44 mag. as he leaves the office. Hey, at least he’d die happy.
Why is everyone so squeamish? There exists Government approval to kill as many babies as we want, without any justification other than inconvenience. Millions since legalized. so here we are worrying about the comfort of someone who is doing the same thing we are, eating our own. by the way, babies are torn apart by a vacuum probe without anesthetic. Draw and Quarter? bah, Kid stuff.
I believe in eye for an eye. I also dont believe in cruel and unusual punishment for someone who has killed someone else. Your talking about someone whos taken a life in commission of a crime. The only reason it becomes what it is, is because the became cowards after they killed someone and they want to libe
Stick with the Constitution and keep it fast, reasonably humane, simple, and inexpensive. Avoid the ways known in the 1780s that were obviously designed to inflict great suffering, e.g. drawing & quartering, or various other torture methods used in despotisms. No crucifixion, stoning, drowning, flogging, strangling, dismemberment, etc.
If a method was used in the early years of the USA, it’s probably good enough today: hanging is the one that comes to mind immediately. Simple scaffold, rope, a few common weights such as sandbags. Musketry, as it was once called in the military.
Conduct the ceremony publicly, solemnly, and soberly, but without all the overblown dramatics, expense, specialists, etc. Competent hangmen or marksmen are fully suitable and readily arranged. Yes, sometimes they err and make things slow or messy, but that’s largely avoided by reasonable care exercised by public authorities and a decent citizenry that expects the executions done in their name to be done Constitutionally.
Simple new ways are fine, too, using drugs, for instance. Every veterinarian can do it professionally for pets, so the concept isn’t too difficult. Just keep it simple, cheap, humane, solemn, and public. Chair on a scaffold, restraints, gag, hood, injection. Done.
Violent criminals need to be put out of *our* misery. It exacts just retribution for their victims, without engaging in an vengeful orgy that undermines public morals. It terminates the threat they pose to society and to other prisoners serving time in confinement. Also, it avoids the ludicrous spectacle of maintaining these brutes for long lives at public expense.
It serves a grim, but absolutely necessary, notice to all: the government chosen by We the People has the primary duty of protecting the society in which we share, and it will do that duty solemnly and lawfully. There are crimes which cannot be tolerated at all, and we won’t. Those who commit such dastardly acts forfeit their right to live. No book deals, no TV interviews, not a nickel’s worth of fame or public notoriety.
Say a brief prayer for the souls of those they wronged, and for the convict. Then give the command to drop the trapdoor, fire the volley, or push the plunger. Have an authority ready to administer the coup de grâce, should it be necessary. Any sworn officer of the court or law is suitable, as they’ve already sworn to uphold law and protect the citizenry. See veterinarian reference above, if unclear on the basic concept. Any doctor involved in terminating medical treatment on the dying or dead performs much the same function, and without great fanfare or Supreme Court involvement.
Great comment loved it. Great short read
Liberals are all in for the defense of the criminals. All about criminals rights, while the constantly erode the rights of the law abiding citizens.
My opinion is the family and loved ones of the victims should decide how these people die. And most importantly how fast they die. How long did they torture their victims.
Attorney Jim Craig cant even trying to hide the fact that his motivations are personal and an underhanded attempt to thwart the will of the people. Once a person has committed a crime that has been judged by jury or judge as deserving of capital justice, they do not have any rights to anything. The method and timing should be the convenience of the court and the victim, period. I personally would suggest the most heinous of methods as a deterrent to anyone contemplating similar behavior.
The Liberals are against the death penalty because it is one of their own that is being put to death. Democrats are always so concerned about someone that is being euthanized, obviously for a heinous crime, that they could feel some pain or discomfort whilst being euthanized. What about the victims that they raped, beat to death, stabbed to death, strangled, tortured or whatever other means were used to kill some innocent person who didn’t deserve it ? Liberals NEVER think about the victims that these monsters violated and the lives they destroyed.
Personally, I think the method of killing a convicted person should be the same as they meted out, Victim strangled? Garrote him/her/it. Shoot, stab? give the killer the same. Raped to death? Impaling. An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. THAT’s justice.
Another option would be to let surviving victims or their immediate families to select method, (from multiple choice). The idea of capital punishment is two fold;
1. to punish. 2. a deterrent. To be a practical and successful deterrent, a thing must be feared. That means it must be terrible to envision. Death by lethal injection is not that greatly feared. (Though, it works for me. I HATE needles!)
when Jesus said for certain crimes he said they were to be put to death,and at that day and time the most common in the bible it was by stoning,and added that by doing this it would cause others to not do these things,then after that he added send them to the father and not to carry the burden.
I would favor a firing squad where the criminal faces the wall and the aiming point is the top of the brain stem. The result is ugly but bullets travel faster than nerve impulses and consciousness would be erased before there was any sensation. The target would literally be dead before he/she knew it.
Anybody remember “Live by the sword ” well murders are predators and will always be predators, if you can’t live within the laws you deserve what comes your way end of story. The rest of the lawbreakers deserve a chance at redemption, so give them a 12lb sledge hammer and let then make gravel 10hrs a day and if that doesn’t get your mind right.
NO GREAT LOSS!
When the framers banned “cruel and unusual” there were still places that used drawing & quartering as a method of execution. If you don’t know what that entails you’ll have to Google. I won’t even describe it here. Suffice it to say ALL methods of LEGAL execution ever employed in the USA are, comparatively speaking, humane.
Utilizing the crime details of his/her conviction, employ those same methods to execute. If the convicted has to undergo the same terror/torture that he put the victim(s) through, then the bleeding hearts might really have a case for “cruel and unusual”. Reduce appeal timeline as well. If DNA or other irrefutable evidence ties the person to the crime, convict one day, execute the next. The death penalty might have some effect of deterrence if it is assured the convicted isn’t going to sit in a cell for 30 days much less 30 years.
I believe the Death penalty should be enacted Nation/territory wide ONLY if there is undeniable evidence ie: DNA, video, etc that would rule out ANY doubt. Too many are in prisons for whatever reasons that have been found undeniably innocent (ie: DNA technology not available at the time of their trials, etc ) many years down the road. When the evidence is undeniably guilty, a Firing squad (with the traditional blank in one rifle) placing the bullets to kill in the best place possible to be assured that the most possible of the criminal’s organs can be used for transplants. In today’s ever increasing litigious environment, criminals are not afraid to commit the crimes warranting the death penalty because they know it takes 20-25 years for their sentences to be carried out. Attorneys and others use this opportunity for job security and to justify their own career existences in many cases. Only when criminals KNOW they would be summarily executed in very short order, would it be a deterrent after a few demonstrations of expediency has been proven out. This ‘solution’ would be the most humane as many other’s lives would be saved or enhanced by the organ ‘donations’. Case closed.
My dog peed on the floor back in 2001. Today, 16 years later, I rubbed his nose in the spot and swatted him with a newspaper. Punishment rendered. Lesson learned. The death penalty is just that silly. It’s also always going to be more expensive to execute a prisoner in the United States than to lock the monster up for the rest of what we hope will be a long, long, miserable existence. I mean, can you imagine spending a week in a shopping mall? Now imagine spending 50 years in a space the size of your house — with the same cheap meals repeating themselves week after week.
I don’t believe a firing squad, electrocution, hanging, or lethal injection are “cruel or unusual” punishments if done right. Let’s ask the people who’ve been through it if it is. Show of hands? Anybody? Nope, none of them complained, so let ‘er rip!
The hangman’s rope and a twelve foot drop has stood the test of time. Cheap and re-useable.
The number of sociopaths on this blog is disturbing to say the least. Why am I not surprised…
Oklahoma has considered a bill allowing for 100% nitrogen atmosphere execution if they are denied access to lethal injection drugs. There have been a number of industrial accidents even at NASA facilities where personnel have gone into tanks that were not cleared of test atmospheres. They lost consciousness, those who went in after them without breathing apparatus lost consciousness, all within 10s of seconds. There is no build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood hence no physiological warning sign as the CO2 is “washed out”. You go to sleep and, if not removed to normal air, asphyxiate. Nitrogen is available industrially from the nearest tire store.
Wonderful idea! Rather than a group of sharpshooters why not a totally adjustable chair that the prisoner can be strapped to sitting roughly five or so feet from a electrically activated device that would fire one precision aimed round of your chosen caliber to strike the prisoner right between the eyes. Of course the device would have to be somewhat concealed so that the prisoner would not have to stress over it. We don’t want to be cruel now, do we. The cost of the device wouldn’t be to high and of course one precision aimed round is going to cost less than a dollar. Cleanup would be done by others on death row who are awaiting their turn. That might be kinda mean, but cost saving. The device would be triggered by the first person turning a light on anywhere in the prison so that nobody would know who triggered the device and would not have to feel guilty. The wiring might be a little difficult but I’m sure someone could figure it out fairly easy.
I don’t understand the problem with obtaining chemicals for lethal injection. It’s common knowledge that a little heroin will get you high, while a lot of heroin will kill you. Problem solved!! There’s plenty of illegal heroin seized by the government. Let’s put some of it to good use. If you can’t find a vein, put it in subcutaneously- sooner or later it’ll be lethal.
I’ve been wondering that myself. We can land a man on the moon and travel faster than the speed of sound,but they are having problems putting a killer to death with chemicals. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that an over dose of iv narcotic pain meds will 100% kill a person. Heroin would probably be the cheapest too of injection route.
To me the whole idea of being “humane” in disposing of a murderer is very disturbing. Public executions were such as to be a deterrent to murder. Today there is No such example. No one is responsible for their actions. These individuals only have the right to a speedy trial and an execution. Being on Death Row for years is just wrong. Worry about execution discomfort should not even be an issue. We have a lot of talk these days about stopping the drug epidemic, and calling addiction a disease. It is a very simple fix here. Drug dealing, due to the nature of damage it does to individuals and their families, should carry an automatic death penalty. After a round of executions using their own drugs, I think that most will rethink this type of occupation as a life’s work. Announce this plan to the public, enforce it 6 months later, and watch the problem disappear within a year or two.
It seems there is a lack of considered thought in these comments. The basic assumptions most are making is that everyone convicted is guilty or deserving of punishment. Secondly that death and life in prison are the only choices. A 6 year old has more imagination than that. We are a very creative Nation so surely we can conceive of a better solution than “Kill them all like dogs.” They are human beings after all, and if you disagree with that then maybe the answer is a lobotomy so that the shell of a human left can return to society and be productive without harming others again. Justice is far more complex than most of you imagine it to be.
You have to be kidding. Lobotomy. Then individual requires 24 hr care. Spend 36 cents on a round.
My objection is to calling it the Death Penalty. Putting down a feral animal that is a danger to the population in general is not “Punishing” the animal, it is “Protecting” the population. Life in prison is more cruel than death, it is still taking the life of the offender, One Heartbeat At A Time. That is more sadistic than simply ending that life to ensure no more innocent people are at risk.
I would agree with you, if it wasn’t for the benefits that many of them get. Free meals, cable television, gym…..
If they are to be punished, then they should not get any ameneties at all. Simply a cot and meals.
THEIR LIVES SHOULD END BY THE SAME MEANS THAT THEY ENDED THE LIVES OF THE INNOCENT VICTIMS
WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO MAKE A MURDERER SUFFER WHEN HE IS EXECUTED?
HE MADE THE VICTIM SUFFER.
Genesis 9:6
Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image He made man.
Any Questions?
Yes, have you read the rest of the Bible?You seem to have forgotten the books that follow.
What about “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”
From a scientific standpoint I think the guillotine is the fastest, least painful, most reliable, least expensive to use.
Guillotine so are plentiful. The US government has many though public hanging by a rope is less expensive and just as effective.
My biggest objections to the death penalty:
People can be corrupt. And some of those people can be: prosecutors, judges and LEO’s and etc. No segment of the population is pure.
It is also of questionable benefit for the gubbmint to be in the business of executing its own citizens. (See also: corruption, above).
Finally, mistakes can be made in the conviction process. Even eyewitness testimony is problematic.
Now if the accused admits to the crime(s) and it is also substantiated with evidence….
valid points about process. beyond the recognition that any legal process is flawed, the crux is whether death is a fitting punishment. i believe it is. my proposal is for a narrow but meaningful three-strikes approach. if a person is convicted of three serious violent crimes, they’re written themselves out of society. the crimes would be limited to the worst of the worst victimizations: murder, assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, major mayhem, rape, kidnapping, and so on. this fairly limited and simple approach would hopefully simplify the appeals process.
beyond the morality of capital punishment, call me heartless but i do not want to pay for these people’s room and board and lawyers’ fees for decades.
This would be acceptable, provided there were no plea bargains. Many cases of murder are reduced, and as a result, the punishment does not fit the crime.
I can see both sides of this arguement. While I am firmly in the capitol punishment is necessary camp, I can see how others can feel that any killing is bad.
So here is what I propose. When a person becomes old enough to work and earn money and also pay taxes, they fill out both a State and Federal form that declares if they are for capitol punishment or are for life sentences. Based on that input the groups will be tallied and the costs for each will be paid by those separate groups. So if you live in a state with capitol punishment, the people who believe in that, pay for the costs for their states executions. In those states with no capitol punishment the people who don’t believe in capitol punishment will pay to keep those on death row alive for the rest of their natural lives. This money will be handled by a Federal System run by DoJ with Federal Judge oversight and yearly public reports to show why people who don’t believe in capitol punishment are paying so much in taxes.
Best option yet GH!! I agree. I would also bet that these “advocates” for “cruel and unusual punishment” have never had a loved one raped, murdered, tortured, kidnapped. Yet they feel they have the rights to defend the accused? If found guilty by no-reasonable doubts, they deserve no less then death. We reep what we sow.
“Just Give them a sleeping pill, have them placed in a small room and turn on a gasoline engine connected to it; and in short time carbon monoxide fumes will terminate them “Painlessly” at very low negligible cost!”
“WHY WASTE A PERFECTLY GOOD BULLET ON SUCH LOW LIFE FORMS?”
I am no lawyer. I will vote YES if we were to vote on the issue. I believe that the minute one takes an innocent life, one forfeits his/her own. The manner of justice being meted is not important as long as it is legal.
I personally would like to see public hangings brought back.
Televised on on the evening news with ample warnings,letting people see what will happen if you take a life
I, too, favor a good hemp rope. Done right it’s quick.
I believe a person should die the same death that he or she caused! And as soon as possible…
Lock them up for life. That is much worse than death.
Yes, so they can be a burden on society for the rest of OUR lives and we have to pay for taking care of them. Uh….I think NOT! Tax payers should not be forced to pay for taking care of criminals. Prison should not be a social club…..like they currently are. They need to be bad enough to be a deterrent to crime….and taxpayers should not be footing the bill for it.
AMERICANISM!!!! NOT Globalism!!!!
You are correct! It should not be a social club, but it is. Prisons are often filled with people who just run their criminal enterprises from inside the prisons, or engage in all types of other criminal activity, and do their drugs too. Furthermore, the inmates do not think of incarceration as a punishment or deterrent. It’s a lifestyle to them, and one they do not have reservations with . Thy have no problem with being in prison and doing their time.
After they are convicted…give their families a choice. They pay for their incarceration for the rest of their lives OR death.
BUT, I would sooner believe that they “did unto others as they would have others do unto them” so they die the same way their victim died. AND if it were an especially vicious killing, hanging until there are only bones left.
Think Charles Manson. Still around after all these years.
If the crime committed was so heinous as to deserve the death penalty why should this monster be humanely put down? Was their victim(s) humanely killed? I think not. Make their death as long and as painful as possible so they have time to remember why they deserve to die.
A firing squad could start at the ankles and work their way up, shooting every 10-15 seconds. Mean and hateful? So was their crime. Their victim(s) didn’t deserve to die.
What you suggest is torture, not capitol punishment. You should be ashamed of yourself cor commenting like that.
Understandable, but I would have more concern for the firing squad. Remember, they have to live with it also.
You’re a sick phuk… Seek help..
I support the death penalty, it should be a choice by the guilty party as what means it is carried out. What is most important to me is the waiting time they need not have to wait decades to be executed, to me that is cruel. Just do it swift.
Agree. If defendant killed by strangulation: they die by garroting. If they kill by stabbing: they die by stabbing. And so on.
I think murderers SHOULD suffer! So this whole “cruel and unusual” debate, to me at least, is Bovine Excrement.
But as an alternative, a bullet at the 1st cervical vertebra juncture (as the Chinese have reportedly done) would be an alternative. Easily done “anonymously” via a series of electrical switches and a randomly computer-controlled selector: five people push a switch at the same time—the computer selects which one input fires the terminating round.
And why not have the families of the murdered victims “have the option” to push the switch, as part of a retribution/healing process?
I’d volunteer for the firing squad and don’t give me any blanks, I want the full jacketed hollow point ones!
To answer the question on the bottom of this article: Yes, I also do fully support the death penalty. But I also would support that someone that has been rightfully charged is being executed immediately and not after decades. I wonder how it is possible that they keep these guys waiting for so long, like this serial killer for 25 years, which the article mentioned. It is clear that he is the murderer and the judges have given him the death penalty, so what are they waiting for?
And I also would like to see that the main execution style, maybe even the only one, is to shoot these guys. Gas chambers, electrocution and the construction of the poison for a lethal injection are far more expensive than a clean shot to the head. Especially the gas chambers are a sign of hypocrisy. While the people are still shocked about the Holocaust that happened during World War 2, they make usage of these Holocaust methods themselves, which is really stupid. Electrocution eats away too much electricity and is not really a fast way to kill someone. And the lethal injection has failed too often as well. I heard from a death participant that was so fat, that the doctors were unable to find a vein, so they had to break up the process. I have read the participant even cried then. I believe it is time to speed the things up and safe some money. Immediate execution by a clean shot and not keeping them in line for decades (prisoners cost money too) and using expensive methods is the best way, in my opinion. You never see them waiting in line like that or using expensive methods in the military, during a drumhead trial.
And yes, I know my text sounds cruel but always imagine what those guys were doing. How can we ever give them a 2nd chance? And think about their victims and the families of these victims, like the one the article already mentioned too. I would even allow them to shoot the one who brought this Hell upon them. An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth and so on.
That is the problem. Most of these criminals are given 2nd and 3rd chances and always return to their savage ways. How many times have we read, or heard on the news that “the criminal who just raped and killed a person had 2 prior convictions”, for the same thing no less. It boggles my mind.
I wish if in most cases it would have been just 2 prior convictions. Especially when it comes to criminal teenagers, it seems that the judges are completely blind. I know of young adults that have committed more than 20 violations of the law and still they have never seen jail from the inside, or maybe just for a very short time. I want to see times coming back where the law is really to be considered a law, therefore it must give the penalties it has written down in its own books. But who is once again against it? Yes, these “liberals”. It is disgusting to me.
FULLY SUPPORT THE DEATH PENALTY!!! By what ever means the crime was committed is how the penalty should be carried out.