Guest Andrea Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 When will America ever grow it's spine back??????????? This is absolutely insane. Why on earth should we care if this is painful or not? I say bring back the electric chair, the gallows, heck even the firing squad isn't so bad!!!!!!!!!!! Supreme Court to Hear Case on Constitutionality of Lethal Injection Monday, January 07, 2008 By Lee Ross E-Mail Print Digg This! del.icio.us WASHINGTON — At 8:23 p.m. local time on Sept. 25, 2007, Michael Richard was pronounced dead inside the execution chamber at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. The United States hasn't held an execution since. Just a few days after Richard's death, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear a challenge to the way executions like Richard's are carried out. That case will be heard Monday. The hearing will weigh whether the nearly universal three-chemical mix used to execute condemned prisoners is constitutional. The court's decision could determine whether a de facto moratorium on the death penalty continues. Since the court announced it would take the case, it has intervened several times to grant last-minute stays. States across the country have followed suit. Monday's arguments in front of the high court is the most significant death penalty case in years. The issue presented does not address the constitutionality of the death penalty itself, but rather the method by which nearly all executions in the U.S. are currently performed. The case, Baze v. Rees, comes out of Kentucky, which is one of 36 states that provides for capital punishment as its most severe criminal sentence. New Jersey's governor last month signed legislation prohibiting the death penalty, and the state has since cleared its death row, returning prisoners to general lock-up. Related Stories New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine Signs State Death Penalty Ban SCORECARD -- A Round-Up of Supreme Court Decisions Ralph Baze was convicted of the 1992 murders of Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and his Deputy Sheriff Arthur Briscoe. Thomas Bowling was convicted of killing Eddie and Tina Early after a traffic accident. He also shot and wounded their two-year-old son. In its brief to the court, lawyers for Baze and Bowling say the three-chemical cocktail and the protocols Kentucky uses to administer the death sentence are cruel and unusual and as such are unconstitutional. They argue "a state...violates the Eighth Amendment when its execution procedures create a significant and unnecessary risk of inflicting severe pain that could be prevented by the adoption of reasonable safeguards." The three-chemical mix was developed in Oklahoma in 1977 and first used five years later in Texas. The first chemical is sodium thiopental — a barbiturate used to anesthetize the inmate. The second chemical is pancuronium bromide, which is used to inflict paralysis. Finally, an injection of potassium chloride causes cardiac arrest and death. The last chemical is considered to be incredibly painful. The lawyers argue "if the intended dose of thiopental is not injected successfully, or does not bring about general anesthesia, the inmate will experience both the terror and agony of conscious suffocation and the excruciating pain caused by the potassium, but will appear peaceful and unconscious to observers." They further argue to the court that only sodium thiopental is necessary to carry out a humane execution. A trial court in Kentucky rejected the arguments made on behalf of the murderers, as did the Kentucky Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling. Kentucky's argument to the court draws upon these lower court rulings and asserts that its execution method does not present a "substantial risk" of an Eighth Amendment violation. The state argued this standard is the proper one for courts to use, suggesting the alternative of "unnecessary risk" is too broad. "[T]he 'substantial risk' standard applied by the Supreme Court of Kentucky provides the proper balance between the need to control the proliferation of insubstantial litigation and the interests of death row inmates." The history of the death penalty in the United States is long and has evolved significantly over the decades. Hanging was the method of choice in the 19th century but a move to supposedly more humane executions during the 20th century brought with it the emergence of the electric chair and gas chamber. By the end of the 20th century and as it stands today, lethal injections are considered the humane standard. But the three-chemical method used by 35 of the 36 death row states — Nebraska is the only state where electrocution is the sole method of death — is what the court may determine is cruel and unusual. Richard was the 42nd and last person executed in 2007. That figure represents the fewest number of executions since 1994. According to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center, he was the 1,099th person executed since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Kentucky has only executed two people in that time. Because of the significant interest in the case, the court has made the unusual, though not unprecedented, decision to release an audio broadcast of the oral arguments immediately after its conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 It is really sick that this piece of scum and tie up the court and also waste taxpayer's money for this kind of appeal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowJoe Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 The late great police chief of Sparta, MS Bill Gillespie (aka: Caroll O'connor) said it best when asked about the death penalty. He said, "The most humane way to kill a man on death row is to come in to his cell at the 11th hour and ask him to pray. As he's praying, tell him that his prayers have been answered and he has been pardoned by the governor. As the smile of the news goes across his face... shoot him in the back of the head with a .45. The last thought he ever had was one of pure delight." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 While grotesque at first glance, there's a lot of truth in that Joe. Good to see your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 The Bible says if you murder a man your life should also end as punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowJoe Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Numbers 35:16 KJV And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:17 KJV And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die , and he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:18 KJV Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die , and he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:19 KJV The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer : when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. Numbers 35:21 KJV Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die : he that smote him shall surely be put to death ; for he is a murderer : the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer , when he meeteth him. Numbers 35:30 KJV Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die . Numbers 35:31 KJV Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer , which is guilty of death : but he shall be surely put to death . The Bible says they should be put to death. If you say this doesn't count because it's in the Old Testament then where do the Ten Commandments come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 the major complaint here is that the lethal injection causes great pain, and is inhumane. fact is, no one has ever survived to complain about the pain. how do they know? i think we should give the convicted prisoner a choice, like utah does. i utah, you may select hanging, firing squad, or electric chair. maybe we should also include drowning, beheading, or the convicted may be killed by the same method he used to execute the innocent person he killed. but, one way or the other, the convicted should end up at room temperature.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Heard a bit of the taped comments on the news yesterday evening. Sounded like from what I heard that the judges will make the right decision, but looks like they are divided. Here is an update I found this morning. WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices indicated Monday they are deeply divided over a challenge to the way most states execute prisoners by lethal injection, which critics say creates an avoidable risk of excruciating pain. With executions in the United States halted since late September, the court heard arguments in a case from Kentucky that calls into question the mix of three drugs used in most executions. Justice Antonin Scalia was among several conservatives on the court who suggested he would uphold Kentucky's method of execution and allow capital punishment to resume. States have been careful to adopt procedures that do not seek to inflict pain and should not be barred from carrying out executions even if prison officials sometimes make mistakes in administering drugs, Scalia said. "There is no painless requirement" in the Constitution, Scalia said. But other justices said they are troubled by the procedure in which three drugs are administered in succession to knock out, paralyze and kill prisoners. The argument against the three-drug protocol is that if the initial anesthetic does not take hold, a third drug that stops the heart can cause excruciating pain. The second drug, meanwhile, paralyzes the prisoner, rendering him unable to express his discomfort. Related Stories Supreme Court to Hear Case on Constitutionality of Lethal Injection New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine Signs State Death Penalty Ban SCORECARD -- A Round-Up of Supreme Court Decisions "I'm terribly troubled by the fact that the second drug seems to cause all risk of excruciating pain," Justice John Paul Stevens said. Both sides in the case said they are bothered by the seemingly endless series of death penalty cases that come to the court. Justice David Souter urged his colleagues to take the time necessary to issue a definitive decision about the three-drug method in this case, even if it means sending the case back to Kentucky for more study by courts there. Scalia, however, said such a move would mean "a national cessation of executions. We're looking at years. We wouldn't want that to happen." Kentucky, backed by the Bush administration, says it works hard to execute inmates humanely, countering claims that its procedure violates the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. But Donald Verrilli, a Washington lawyer who is a veteran of capital cases, told the justices that problems with executions in California, North Carolina and other states show that the three-drug procedure should be scrapped or thoroughly revamped. "The risk here is real. That is why it is unlawful to euthanize animals the way Kentucky executes inmates," Verrilli said. Kentucky bars the use of the paralytic on animals. An overdose of barbiturates is commonly used on animals. Verrilli suggested a similar method be adopted in Kentucky. But Roy Englert, arguing for the state, said a single drug has never been used in executions. By contrast, he said, Kentucky regularly trains its execution team and employs an experienced worker to insert the intravenous lines through which the drugs are administered. Recent executions in Florida and Ohio took much longer than usual, with strong indications that the prisoners suffered severe pain in the process. Workers had trouble inserting the IV lines that are used to deliver the drugs. Lined up in front of the court waiting to attend the arguments, college students Jeremy Sperling and Gira Joshi said they oppose the death penalty, but regard making executions less painful and more humane as a worthy goal. "You have the right to die with dignity," said Joshi, a political science and religion major at New Jersey's Rutgers University. Sperling, a psychology and religion major at New York University, said serving a life prison term is the appropriate alternative to the death penalty. The case is Baze v. Rees, 07-5439. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrea Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Numbers 35:16 KJV And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:17 KJV And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die , and he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:18 KJV Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die , and he die , he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death . Numbers 35:19 KJV The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer : when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. Numbers 35:21 KJV Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die : he that smote him shall surely be put to death ; for he is a murderer : the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer , when he meeteth him. Numbers 35:30 KJV Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die . Numbers 35:31 KJV Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer , which is guilty of death : but he shall be surely put to death . The Bible says they should be put to death. If you say this doesn't count because it's in the Old Testament then where do the Ten Commandments come from? We can quote the bible all we want.....but in today's society that means nothing anymore. Very sad fact. Heck we can't even hang the Ten Commandments up on the wall of any public building. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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