Rick Halperin
2018-09-26 12:17:53 UTC
September 26
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Briley Piper Again Appeals Death Penalty
Death-row inmate Briley Piper is once again going before the South Dakota
Supreme Court. He continues to fight his death sentence and is trying again to
withdraw the guilty plea he entered in 2001. Oral arguments are set for Monday,
Oct. 1.
Piper was convicted of taking part in the kidnap, torture, and murder of
19-year-old Chester Poage, who died on March 13, 2000, in Spearfish Canyon.
(source: sdpb.org)
IDAHO:
Death penalty challenged in slaying
Defense counsel for a Washington state man accused of murder is moving to have
the death penalty taken off the table.
Hailey attorney R. Keith Roark argues Idaho's death penalty protocol violates
Jacob Corban Coleman's constitutional protections against cruel and unusual
punishment, according to documents filed in 1st District Court on Thursday.
"Lethal injection, as performed in Idaho, risks the infliction of pain and
suffering," Roark said in a motion to strike the state's notice to seek the
death penalty against Coleman for the stabbing death of Gagandeep Singh in
Kootenai in 2017.
Coleman, a 20-year-old from Puyallup, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Singh
inside Singh's parked minivan taxicab in August 2017. Coleman remained inside
the minivan as Singh bled to death, rendering neither help nor summoning for
help, according to statements Coleman made to sheriff's detectives following
his arrest. Singh, a 22-year-old from Spokane Valley, Wash., was stabbed more
than 20 times, according to the Bonner County Coroner's Office.
Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall notified the defense last year that the
state would be seeking the death penalty due to aggravating factors in the
killing, such as the cruel and callous nature of the attack.
But Roark argues that some of Idaho's lethal injection methods have been
condemned by human rights groups.
Idaho has 4 methods of lethal injection, 2 of which are known to cause
prolonged pain and suffering, Roark said in court documents. Those methods
involve the use of Pancuronium, potassium chloride and sodium thiopental.
Roark also filed a motion to exclude at trial audio and video recordings from
inside the minivan, which was fitted with a surveillance system.
However, Roark argues there were no signs advising riders of the recording
equipment, which meant Coleman did not consent to being recorded. He further
argues that Washington law should be applied in the case because Coleman and
Singh are Washington residents and the cab ride originated in that state, court
records show.
Hearings on the various motions are pending.
Coleman pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder and is being held at the Bonner
County Jail. His trial is set for April 2019.
(source: bonnercountydailybee.com)
WASHINGTON:
Poetry to persuade death penalty opposition
One Port Townsend local is looking to help take down Washington state's death
penalty by using the power of poetry.
Sarah Zale is calling on any poets who believe in her cause to submit their
works to her by the end of the year to be included in a chapbook that will be
distributed as far as she can take it.
"I'm looking for different ways to get the word out about what I'm trying to
do," Zale said.
A total of 110 executions have been carried out in Washington state and its
predecessor territories since 1849, Zale said.
"5 executions have taken place since the death penalty was re-enacted Nov. 4,
1975. 8 men are currently on death row. They can choose death by lethal
injection or hanging," Zale stated in a release.
Zale, a published poet and self-proclaimed political activist, was inspired by
Gov. Jay Inslee's efforts to stall the death penalty in the state with a
moratorium in 2014. Senate Bill 6052, introduced in January 2018, now sits in
the Senate Rules Committee for a third hearing.
2 years ago, through Northwind Arts Center's Roadstead Project, Zale started a
collaborative art undertaking, composed of visual artists and musicians. This
year, it will be presented from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25, along with interactive
art exhibitions that invite visitor participation. Her group's project is the
death penalty, and before that it involved the Holocaust.
"Once we come up with projects, we will have a showing and communicate about
the collaborative process," Zale said. "It can be much more complex than just
the death penalty." Zale's goal is to get people involved locally for a call of
poems and readings at local venues and those around the state, with hopes of
drawing attention statewide.
"There are still 33 states that still have the death penalty," Zale cited.
As a Michigan native, Zale said she takes great pride in the state being the
1st to abolish the death penalty in 1839.
"As a poet, I did a book of poetry focused on Detroit," Zale said. "One of
those poems was called 'The Last Hanging in Michigan,' about the final
execution in the state."
Deborah Wiese is a contributing poet who shares a personal story about her
stance on the death penalty. Her poem, "Extra Piece," speaks of forgiveness and
empathy, while telling a story about how her sister and brother-in-law were
murdered in their restaurant, along with five of their employees, who were shot
by a pair of young adults 25 years ago. After their deaths, many asked Wiese if
her opposition to the death penalty had changed in the aftermath.
"A principle doesn't make sense if something happens to you for it to change,"
Wiese said. "Even though I wanted to kill those who killed my sister and
brother-in-law, I came around to the understanding that, for me, the principle
that I have found was that it doesn't make sense and isn't morally correct to
kill someone to show that killing is wrong. That principle still stood."
When Wiese came through her experience, her only desire for the two men was for
them to understand that what they did was wrong and to become caring people.
Wiese said one of the men was found nearly a decade later, convicted a couple
years afterward, and had a family. Wiese said she only cared about him caring
for his family.
"That was the preferable outcome for me, not his death," she said, adding she
found it disturbing the death penalty was applied unequally and many others are
released from death row because of advances in technology. "Even if the death
penalty could be administered perfectly, I would still not agree with it."
Once poems are collected, which has a deadline of Dec. 31, Zale will contact
any bookstores to schedule readings from any of the contributing poets
throughout the state. Zale is open to other projects outside of poetry reading,
involving any visual art that supports the abolishment of capital punishment.
Published poems are accepted with credit to the publisher. Submissions can be
emailed to Zale at ***@gmail.com. There is a maximum of 3 poems per
poet, with a 50-word biography of the poet.
(source: ptleader.com)
USA:
Fentanyl and the Death Penalty
Even as law enforcement tries to reduce the number of deaths attributed to the
super-opioid fentanyl, some states are trying to increase them through their
use for capital punishment.
In the United States, capital punishment is mostly a matter of state law, so
long as it doesn't violate the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual
punishment."
There is no accepted legal definition of what "cruel and unusual" means, but
that doesn't seem to be the real concern.
We don't seem to care much about whether the convict suffers, but whether he
(or she) appears to have suffered. We appear to be more concerned with whether
the officials conducting the execution and the witnesses are so disturbed by
what they see that they suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or, worse, start
to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
Most nations of the world already have abolished capital punishment - including
Canada, most of Latin America and Europe - and that has created a problem in
the U.S.
Lethal injection - a cocktail of different drugs - is the most common means of
execution in the U.S., but many of the drugs used in that cocktail come from
pharmaceutical companies based outside the country, and/or who do not wish for
their products to be used to kill.
Recently, Nebraska got around this problem by replacing one of the hard-to-get
drugs with fentanyl. The notorious opioid - reputedly 50 times or more stronger
than heroin and even maybe (maybe not) deadly to the touch- has been implicated
in many accidental overdose deaths, including Tom Petty and Prince.
If it can kill you when you're not trying, it must be pretty damn lethal.
While Nebraska was the 1st state to use fentanyl in an execution, Nevada sought
that distinction in July. (It was blocked by concerns about one of the other
drugs in the cocktail.)
One of the first proponents of lethal injection as a more humane method of
execution was Ronald Reagan while he was governor of California. In 1973, with
the death penalty temporarily ruled unconstitutional - the Supreme Court deemed
the gas chamber cruel and unusual - Reagan speculated that an execution could
be conducted with a hypodermic needle, like a veterinarian putting down a horse
with a broken leg: "the vet gives it a shot, and the horse goes to sleep -
that's it."
Except it was never administered that way.
Instead, states have adopted a "cocktail" approach that combines 3 or more
types of drugs: an anesthetic so the condemned goes to sleep; then a paralytic,
so the criminal can't move (or maybe breathe); followed by poison to stop the
heart. In Nebraska's execution, fentanyl was 1 of 4 drugs.
Fentanyl was responsible for up to 40 % of the deaths by drug overdose in 2017
- deaths that could have been prevented if people with a heroin addiction had
gotten into an inpatient heroin rehab before they tried fentanyl.
The idea of using that drug for official executions seems wrong, and
maintaining legal capital punishment in this politically correct nation largely
depends upon keeping up appearances.
We have a lot of purported reasons for the death penalty but they don't hold up
under scrutiny:
Justice? Not when those being executed are most often from the poor and/or
minority populations who couldn’t afford a better attorney and might even be
innocent (as later DNA exonerations have demonstrated).
Deterrence? No. One study found that 9 out of 10 criminologists don't believe
executions deter murderers. A 2017 analysis published by The Huffington Post
found that 80 % of the 25 states with the highest murder rates also had the
death penalty, while 56 % of the 25 states with the lowest murder rates had no
death penalty. That doesn't prove a correlation, but if there is one, then it
is that the death penalty increases the murder rate.
Cost? It is more expensive - 4 to 10 times as much - to execute a criminal than
to lock him or her up for life.
The only reason that holds up under the facts is vengeance (a less praiseworthy
motive than justice): the belief that for some crimes, you should pay with your
life and maybe be seen paying with your life.
Public execution used to be the norm and was even a spectator sport and an
occasion for a social gathering. Take along a picnic, buy a program or a
souvenir. Seating was available, with better views for those who could pay for
them.
Today, the crowds are smaller and more squeamish.
We want our executions (if we want executions at all) to be quick, painless and
antiseptic. Most people can’t bear to see chickens or cattle slaughtered.
Execution is that much less palatable:
Hanging. The problem, by modern standards, is that unless the knot is placed
just right and the drop is just the right height, instead of a quick snap of
the neck the condemned may slowly strangle or have his head detached as quickly
as by a guillotine.
The electric chair. Not as fool-proof as often thought. Too little current and
the criminal doesn't die the 1st time. Too much, and the criminal catches on
fire.
Gas chamber. The method most widely in use when the Supreme Court ruled capital
punishment cruel and unusual. (It also recalled the gas chambers in Nazi death
camps.) The condemned were instructed to "take a whiff" to speed up death, but
self-preservation means they would likely try to hold their breath and prolong
the suffering.
A 1992 study published in the journal Perception concluded that "All of the
methods used for executing people, with the possible exception of intravenous
injection, are likely to cause pain," but that the evidence of such pain is
concealed by the procedure or the condemned individual's restraints.
"Therefore, the absence of signs of severe pain does not provide sufficient
evidence for us to decide whether or not it occurs," the study concluded.
Usage of lethal injection for the death penalty in the United States.
Since then, a 2014 execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma was botched so
badly that the condemned took 43 minutes to die, apparently in great pain, on
the gurney. The question then is why do we still use lethal injections? It
isn't a better method. It fails - in the sense that it takes longer or puts the
condemned through more pain - more often than any other method.
More than 7 % of all lethal injections since 1980 were thus "botched," a rate
higher than hanging, electrocution or gas. (Firing squads had the lowest number
and percentage of botches with zero, but there were far fewer of them.)
The answer seems to be because it looks like a routine medical procedure, not
the brutal taking of somebody's life. The trouble with botches isn't that the
condemned doesn't die - they do, eventually - but that they die in a way that
some observers find disturbing.
(Victims' families and some death penalty supporters actually would like to see
more pain.)
Even supporters of capital punishment may find watching an execution traumatic.
A study of journalists who observed an execution as part of their job
experienced "dissociative symptoms," primarily a feeling of detachment. Viewing
a film of an execution caused a decrease in support for capital punishment.
On the other hand, there no doubt is no method of execution that opponents of
the death penalty wouldn't oppose. If it was as fast and painless as turning
off a light, they would still object. The expressed concern over whether it is
cruel and unusual seems beside the point.
While humanitarians would agree that "If it were done when 'tis done, then
'twere well it were done quickly," and that it is desirable that the condemned
not feel pain, why a paralytic? It doesn't reduce the suffering of the
condemned or hasten death, but rather prevents them from doing anything that
will upset the observers.
In fact, if the anesthetic didn't work due to incompetence or other reason, the
paralytic keeps them from alerting the executioners to the fact. They could be
dying slowly and painfully.
How likely is such incompetence? The answer: higher than it would otherwise
would be since physicians usually don't conduct the executions, because it is a
violation of most medical societies' ethics. It violates the Hippocratic Oath's
injunction to “never do harm to anyone." (Some do anyway because they are
unaware of the ethics violation or just choose not to comply with it.)
How hard is it to administer an anesthetic? Well, anesthesiology is a specialty
that takes years of training, and not everyone reacts the same to the same dose
of a drug. What is a numbing quantity for one person might be fatal to another
and have no discernible effect on a 3rd.
In the face of these problems, some states are looking at another alternative:
nitrogen gas. Alabama has started offering death-row inmates a choice between
lethal injection and nitrogen gas. Since nitrogen has never been used on
inmates before, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama says this is
simply “experimenting on human beings."
Worldwide, the death penalty is facing abolition.
Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church's position on capital punishment in
August, declaring it "inadmissible" and the Church's previous acceptance of it
as "more legalistic than Christian." All these attempts to make execution more
humane are an attempt to hold on to the death penalty despite such opprobrium.
Americans are rebels, proud to go their own way. When everybody else we respect
is going in the other direction, maybe it's time to change course.
(source: Stephen Bitsoli, a Michigan-based freelancer, writes about addiction,
politics and related matters for several blogs. He welcomes readers'
comments----thecrimereport.org)
************************
4 inmates indicted in 2013 Victorville prison death
4 suspects were named Tuesday in a 2013 prison killing in Victorville after an
indictment was unsealed, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said in a statement Tuesday that
Aurelio "Augie" Patino, Adilson "Shanky" Reyes, Christopher "Sneaky" Ruiz and
Jose "Torch" Villegas were charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to
commit murder, charges that carry a potential death sentence.
The unsealed indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on Aug. 29.
All 4 are suspected of killing a 38-year-old inmate, identified in the
indictment as "J.S." at the Federal Correctional Institution II in Victorville
on Oct. 1, 2013, prosecutors said in a statement.
The indictment contains allegations that J.S. was escorted to the recreation
yard in the prison, where he was attacked, the statement said. Patino, Ruiz and
Villegas are accused of striking and kicking J.S. until he was no longer
breathing, at which point Reyes instructed them to continue beating him,
prosecutors said.
Officials previously said an inmate named Javier Sandez was found beaten to
death at the same prison on Oct. 1, 2013.
Patino, 35, was from Riverside and was serving a 16-month sentence at the time
of the alleged murder for being a felon in possession of a firearm and
ammunition, and is currently serving a 100-month sentence in a California state
prison.
Reyes, 37, was from Los Angeles and was serving a 135-month sentence in
relation to a cocaine distribution case.
Ruiz, 44, was from San Diego and was serving a 10-year sentence after being
convicted on racketeering and methamphetamine charges.
Villegas, 37, was from Los Angeles and was serving a 15-year sentence in a
methamphetamine case.
The indictment noted the men "committed the offense in an especially heinous,
cruel or depraved manner in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse
to the victim," the statement said.
The U.S. Attorney's office said all 4 men are in being held in different
prisons, and will be arraigned soon in U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California, which covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San
Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
If convicted on the 1st-degree murder charges, each defendant would face a
mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole, with the death
penalty as a possibility.
The case was investigated by the FBI.
(source: San Bernardino Sun)
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SOUTH DAKOTA:
Briley Piper Again Appeals Death Penalty
Death-row inmate Briley Piper is once again going before the South Dakota
Supreme Court. He continues to fight his death sentence and is trying again to
withdraw the guilty plea he entered in 2001. Oral arguments are set for Monday,
Oct. 1.
Piper was convicted of taking part in the kidnap, torture, and murder of
19-year-old Chester Poage, who died on March 13, 2000, in Spearfish Canyon.
(source: sdpb.org)
IDAHO:
Death penalty challenged in slaying
Defense counsel for a Washington state man accused of murder is moving to have
the death penalty taken off the table.
Hailey attorney R. Keith Roark argues Idaho's death penalty protocol violates
Jacob Corban Coleman's constitutional protections against cruel and unusual
punishment, according to documents filed in 1st District Court on Thursday.
"Lethal injection, as performed in Idaho, risks the infliction of pain and
suffering," Roark said in a motion to strike the state's notice to seek the
death penalty against Coleman for the stabbing death of Gagandeep Singh in
Kootenai in 2017.
Coleman, a 20-year-old from Puyallup, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Singh
inside Singh's parked minivan taxicab in August 2017. Coleman remained inside
the minivan as Singh bled to death, rendering neither help nor summoning for
help, according to statements Coleman made to sheriff's detectives following
his arrest. Singh, a 22-year-old from Spokane Valley, Wash., was stabbed more
than 20 times, according to the Bonner County Coroner's Office.
Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall notified the defense last year that the
state would be seeking the death penalty due to aggravating factors in the
killing, such as the cruel and callous nature of the attack.
But Roark argues that some of Idaho's lethal injection methods have been
condemned by human rights groups.
Idaho has 4 methods of lethal injection, 2 of which are known to cause
prolonged pain and suffering, Roark said in court documents. Those methods
involve the use of Pancuronium, potassium chloride and sodium thiopental.
Roark also filed a motion to exclude at trial audio and video recordings from
inside the minivan, which was fitted with a surveillance system.
However, Roark argues there were no signs advising riders of the recording
equipment, which meant Coleman did not consent to being recorded. He further
argues that Washington law should be applied in the case because Coleman and
Singh are Washington residents and the cab ride originated in that state, court
records show.
Hearings on the various motions are pending.
Coleman pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder and is being held at the Bonner
County Jail. His trial is set for April 2019.
(source: bonnercountydailybee.com)
WASHINGTON:
Poetry to persuade death penalty opposition
One Port Townsend local is looking to help take down Washington state's death
penalty by using the power of poetry.
Sarah Zale is calling on any poets who believe in her cause to submit their
works to her by the end of the year to be included in a chapbook that will be
distributed as far as she can take it.
"I'm looking for different ways to get the word out about what I'm trying to
do," Zale said.
A total of 110 executions have been carried out in Washington state and its
predecessor territories since 1849, Zale said.
"5 executions have taken place since the death penalty was re-enacted Nov. 4,
1975. 8 men are currently on death row. They can choose death by lethal
injection or hanging," Zale stated in a release.
Zale, a published poet and self-proclaimed political activist, was inspired by
Gov. Jay Inslee's efforts to stall the death penalty in the state with a
moratorium in 2014. Senate Bill 6052, introduced in January 2018, now sits in
the Senate Rules Committee for a third hearing.
2 years ago, through Northwind Arts Center's Roadstead Project, Zale started a
collaborative art undertaking, composed of visual artists and musicians. This
year, it will be presented from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25, along with interactive
art exhibitions that invite visitor participation. Her group's project is the
death penalty, and before that it involved the Holocaust.
"Once we come up with projects, we will have a showing and communicate about
the collaborative process," Zale said. "It can be much more complex than just
the death penalty." Zale's goal is to get people involved locally for a call of
poems and readings at local venues and those around the state, with hopes of
drawing attention statewide.
"There are still 33 states that still have the death penalty," Zale cited.
As a Michigan native, Zale said she takes great pride in the state being the
1st to abolish the death penalty in 1839.
"As a poet, I did a book of poetry focused on Detroit," Zale said. "One of
those poems was called 'The Last Hanging in Michigan,' about the final
execution in the state."
Deborah Wiese is a contributing poet who shares a personal story about her
stance on the death penalty. Her poem, "Extra Piece," speaks of forgiveness and
empathy, while telling a story about how her sister and brother-in-law were
murdered in their restaurant, along with five of their employees, who were shot
by a pair of young adults 25 years ago. After their deaths, many asked Wiese if
her opposition to the death penalty had changed in the aftermath.
"A principle doesn't make sense if something happens to you for it to change,"
Wiese said. "Even though I wanted to kill those who killed my sister and
brother-in-law, I came around to the understanding that, for me, the principle
that I have found was that it doesn't make sense and isn't morally correct to
kill someone to show that killing is wrong. That principle still stood."
When Wiese came through her experience, her only desire for the two men was for
them to understand that what they did was wrong and to become caring people.
Wiese said one of the men was found nearly a decade later, convicted a couple
years afterward, and had a family. Wiese said she only cared about him caring
for his family.
"That was the preferable outcome for me, not his death," she said, adding she
found it disturbing the death penalty was applied unequally and many others are
released from death row because of advances in technology. "Even if the death
penalty could be administered perfectly, I would still not agree with it."
Once poems are collected, which has a deadline of Dec. 31, Zale will contact
any bookstores to schedule readings from any of the contributing poets
throughout the state. Zale is open to other projects outside of poetry reading,
involving any visual art that supports the abolishment of capital punishment.
Published poems are accepted with credit to the publisher. Submissions can be
emailed to Zale at ***@gmail.com. There is a maximum of 3 poems per
poet, with a 50-word biography of the poet.
(source: ptleader.com)
USA:
Fentanyl and the Death Penalty
Even as law enforcement tries to reduce the number of deaths attributed to the
super-opioid fentanyl, some states are trying to increase them through their
use for capital punishment.
In the United States, capital punishment is mostly a matter of state law, so
long as it doesn't violate the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual
punishment."
There is no accepted legal definition of what "cruel and unusual" means, but
that doesn't seem to be the real concern.
We don't seem to care much about whether the convict suffers, but whether he
(or she) appears to have suffered. We appear to be more concerned with whether
the officials conducting the execution and the witnesses are so disturbed by
what they see that they suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or, worse, start
to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
Most nations of the world already have abolished capital punishment - including
Canada, most of Latin America and Europe - and that has created a problem in
the U.S.
Lethal injection - a cocktail of different drugs - is the most common means of
execution in the U.S., but many of the drugs used in that cocktail come from
pharmaceutical companies based outside the country, and/or who do not wish for
their products to be used to kill.
Recently, Nebraska got around this problem by replacing one of the hard-to-get
drugs with fentanyl. The notorious opioid - reputedly 50 times or more stronger
than heroin and even maybe (maybe not) deadly to the touch- has been implicated
in many accidental overdose deaths, including Tom Petty and Prince.
If it can kill you when you're not trying, it must be pretty damn lethal.
While Nebraska was the 1st state to use fentanyl in an execution, Nevada sought
that distinction in July. (It was blocked by concerns about one of the other
drugs in the cocktail.)
One of the first proponents of lethal injection as a more humane method of
execution was Ronald Reagan while he was governor of California. In 1973, with
the death penalty temporarily ruled unconstitutional - the Supreme Court deemed
the gas chamber cruel and unusual - Reagan speculated that an execution could
be conducted with a hypodermic needle, like a veterinarian putting down a horse
with a broken leg: "the vet gives it a shot, and the horse goes to sleep -
that's it."
Except it was never administered that way.
Instead, states have adopted a "cocktail" approach that combines 3 or more
types of drugs: an anesthetic so the condemned goes to sleep; then a paralytic,
so the criminal can't move (or maybe breathe); followed by poison to stop the
heart. In Nebraska's execution, fentanyl was 1 of 4 drugs.
Fentanyl was responsible for up to 40 % of the deaths by drug overdose in 2017
- deaths that could have been prevented if people with a heroin addiction had
gotten into an inpatient heroin rehab before they tried fentanyl.
The idea of using that drug for official executions seems wrong, and
maintaining legal capital punishment in this politically correct nation largely
depends upon keeping up appearances.
We have a lot of purported reasons for the death penalty but they don't hold up
under scrutiny:
Justice? Not when those being executed are most often from the poor and/or
minority populations who couldn’t afford a better attorney and might even be
innocent (as later DNA exonerations have demonstrated).
Deterrence? No. One study found that 9 out of 10 criminologists don't believe
executions deter murderers. A 2017 analysis published by The Huffington Post
found that 80 % of the 25 states with the highest murder rates also had the
death penalty, while 56 % of the 25 states with the lowest murder rates had no
death penalty. That doesn't prove a correlation, but if there is one, then it
is that the death penalty increases the murder rate.
Cost? It is more expensive - 4 to 10 times as much - to execute a criminal than
to lock him or her up for life.
The only reason that holds up under the facts is vengeance (a less praiseworthy
motive than justice): the belief that for some crimes, you should pay with your
life and maybe be seen paying with your life.
Public execution used to be the norm and was even a spectator sport and an
occasion for a social gathering. Take along a picnic, buy a program or a
souvenir. Seating was available, with better views for those who could pay for
them.
Today, the crowds are smaller and more squeamish.
We want our executions (if we want executions at all) to be quick, painless and
antiseptic. Most people can’t bear to see chickens or cattle slaughtered.
Execution is that much less palatable:
Hanging. The problem, by modern standards, is that unless the knot is placed
just right and the drop is just the right height, instead of a quick snap of
the neck the condemned may slowly strangle or have his head detached as quickly
as by a guillotine.
The electric chair. Not as fool-proof as often thought. Too little current and
the criminal doesn't die the 1st time. Too much, and the criminal catches on
fire.
Gas chamber. The method most widely in use when the Supreme Court ruled capital
punishment cruel and unusual. (It also recalled the gas chambers in Nazi death
camps.) The condemned were instructed to "take a whiff" to speed up death, but
self-preservation means they would likely try to hold their breath and prolong
the suffering.
A 1992 study published in the journal Perception concluded that "All of the
methods used for executing people, with the possible exception of intravenous
injection, are likely to cause pain," but that the evidence of such pain is
concealed by the procedure or the condemned individual's restraints.
"Therefore, the absence of signs of severe pain does not provide sufficient
evidence for us to decide whether or not it occurs," the study concluded.
Usage of lethal injection for the death penalty in the United States.
Since then, a 2014 execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma was botched so
badly that the condemned took 43 minutes to die, apparently in great pain, on
the gurney. The question then is why do we still use lethal injections? It
isn't a better method. It fails - in the sense that it takes longer or puts the
condemned through more pain - more often than any other method.
More than 7 % of all lethal injections since 1980 were thus "botched," a rate
higher than hanging, electrocution or gas. (Firing squads had the lowest number
and percentage of botches with zero, but there were far fewer of them.)
The answer seems to be because it looks like a routine medical procedure, not
the brutal taking of somebody's life. The trouble with botches isn't that the
condemned doesn't die - they do, eventually - but that they die in a way that
some observers find disturbing.
(Victims' families and some death penalty supporters actually would like to see
more pain.)
Even supporters of capital punishment may find watching an execution traumatic.
A study of journalists who observed an execution as part of their job
experienced "dissociative symptoms," primarily a feeling of detachment. Viewing
a film of an execution caused a decrease in support for capital punishment.
On the other hand, there no doubt is no method of execution that opponents of
the death penalty wouldn't oppose. If it was as fast and painless as turning
off a light, they would still object. The expressed concern over whether it is
cruel and unusual seems beside the point.
While humanitarians would agree that "If it were done when 'tis done, then
'twere well it were done quickly," and that it is desirable that the condemned
not feel pain, why a paralytic? It doesn't reduce the suffering of the
condemned or hasten death, but rather prevents them from doing anything that
will upset the observers.
In fact, if the anesthetic didn't work due to incompetence or other reason, the
paralytic keeps them from alerting the executioners to the fact. They could be
dying slowly and painfully.
How likely is such incompetence? The answer: higher than it would otherwise
would be since physicians usually don't conduct the executions, because it is a
violation of most medical societies' ethics. It violates the Hippocratic Oath's
injunction to “never do harm to anyone." (Some do anyway because they are
unaware of the ethics violation or just choose not to comply with it.)
How hard is it to administer an anesthetic? Well, anesthesiology is a specialty
that takes years of training, and not everyone reacts the same to the same dose
of a drug. What is a numbing quantity for one person might be fatal to another
and have no discernible effect on a 3rd.
In the face of these problems, some states are looking at another alternative:
nitrogen gas. Alabama has started offering death-row inmates a choice between
lethal injection and nitrogen gas. Since nitrogen has never been used on
inmates before, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama says this is
simply “experimenting on human beings."
Worldwide, the death penalty is facing abolition.
Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church's position on capital punishment in
August, declaring it "inadmissible" and the Church's previous acceptance of it
as "more legalistic than Christian." All these attempts to make execution more
humane are an attempt to hold on to the death penalty despite such opprobrium.
Americans are rebels, proud to go their own way. When everybody else we respect
is going in the other direction, maybe it's time to change course.
(source: Stephen Bitsoli, a Michigan-based freelancer, writes about addiction,
politics and related matters for several blogs. He welcomes readers'
comments----thecrimereport.org)
************************
4 inmates indicted in 2013 Victorville prison death
4 suspects were named Tuesday in a 2013 prison killing in Victorville after an
indictment was unsealed, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said in a statement Tuesday that
Aurelio "Augie" Patino, Adilson "Shanky" Reyes, Christopher "Sneaky" Ruiz and
Jose "Torch" Villegas were charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to
commit murder, charges that carry a potential death sentence.
The unsealed indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on Aug. 29.
All 4 are suspected of killing a 38-year-old inmate, identified in the
indictment as "J.S." at the Federal Correctional Institution II in Victorville
on Oct. 1, 2013, prosecutors said in a statement.
The indictment contains allegations that J.S. was escorted to the recreation
yard in the prison, where he was attacked, the statement said. Patino, Ruiz and
Villegas are accused of striking and kicking J.S. until he was no longer
breathing, at which point Reyes instructed them to continue beating him,
prosecutors said.
Officials previously said an inmate named Javier Sandez was found beaten to
death at the same prison on Oct. 1, 2013.
Patino, 35, was from Riverside and was serving a 16-month sentence at the time
of the alleged murder for being a felon in possession of a firearm and
ammunition, and is currently serving a 100-month sentence in a California state
prison.
Reyes, 37, was from Los Angeles and was serving a 135-month sentence in
relation to a cocaine distribution case.
Ruiz, 44, was from San Diego and was serving a 10-year sentence after being
convicted on racketeering and methamphetamine charges.
Villegas, 37, was from Los Angeles and was serving a 15-year sentence in a
methamphetamine case.
The indictment noted the men "committed the offense in an especially heinous,
cruel or depraved manner in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse
to the victim," the statement said.
The U.S. Attorney's office said all 4 men are in being held in different
prisons, and will be arraigned soon in U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California, which covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San
Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
If convicted on the 1st-degree murder charges, each defendant would face a
mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole, with the death
penalty as a possibility.
The case was investigated by the FBI.
(source: San Bernardino Sun)
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