Death’s Most Worthy Adversary Angel Diaz is not the type of convict to back down from a fight, especially when his opponent is Death. Most criminals surrender the battle seven minutes into their lethal injection execution, but Angel Diaz is still fully conscious with gloves on, eyes open, and mouth still moving. Death will not get its victory until 34 minutes into the fight, where Angel Diaz will lay motionless and heart monitor coming to a flat line. Was this a special case, or do lengthy lethal injection procedures occur more often than they should? A study conducted by Teresa A. Zimmers and her colleagues at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine questioned the lethal injection procedure that is used today. In the execution protocol, the drugs used to make up the “deadly” cocktail are potassium chloride, thiopental, and barbiturate. The drugs used in combination together have had very little research done on the effects they produce. Zimmers states, “no ethical or oversight …show more content…
The three drugs used to “deaden pain, paralyze the body and cause a fatal heart attack,” do not do their job and have no proof of doing their job in the first place (Associated Press 2006). Due to the increasing awareness of the flaws in the lethal injection process, many have expressed temporarily stopping the death penalty, including 11 states. Of those 11 states, 9 of them intend to seek “resolution of issues surrounding the process” (Zimmers 435). With all of the procedural errors and pain prisoners feel as they are about to die a supposedly painless death, Angel Diaz summarized the experience best with his final words, ''The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans. I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this '' (Lethal Injection in
There have been cases where inmates suffer greatly when injected with the deadly concoction. In the guide, “From Critical Thinking to Argument” Zachary Shemtob and David Lat described a case where an inmate showed signs that he was in agonizing pain after being injected with the mixture. Lat and Shemtob wrote, “When another Georgia inmate, Roy Blankenship, was executed in June, the prisoner jerked his head, grimaced, gasped, and lurched, according to a medical expert’s affidavit” (62). Could you imagine being a witness to that? It makes the belief that capital punishment is even more wrong than it was before. Additionally, our eighth amendment is supposed to protect us from cruel and unusual punishment. Blankenship was certainly not given that right. Our government needs to realize that the death penalty extinguishes our protection from cruel and unusual
Some people may consider the death penalty as inhumane. As stated in the article, Naked City, by Rita Radostitz, Texas uses three chemicals in the lethal injection process: sodium thiopental (an extremely short-term anesthetic), pancuronium bromide (which paralyses the diaphragm and other muscles so the inmate is unable to move or speak, even if he is in pain), and potassium chloride (which stops the heart).
In 1982, the state of Texas became the first jurisdiction in the world to carry out an execution by lethal injection. Leaving many in the US and around the world to voice their opinion of should the death penalty be a form of punishment for taking the life of someone. Individuals who are against the death penalty argue, that putting someone to death continues the cycle of senseless murdering. However, others who are for the death penalty argues that those who take a life should face the consequences of committing a murder. In the short story A Death in Texas, Steve Earle tells of the life, the murders committed and the execution of his friend Jonathan Noble on
... our society are in regards to this topic. The shortage of effective drugs used for lethal injections stems up to the medical professional’s reluctance to provide the state with drugs that can do harm and possibly inflict pain on the body. Many doctors refuse to go against the Hippocratic Oath and provide the state with lethal injections. In this passionate article, the author expresses his view that because the process that leads up to capital punishment is initially flawed, capital punishment as a whole turns out to be a ‘downright embarrassment’ to the state.
Despite this, they appeal the case. They succeed in postponing the hanging a number of times, but it’s only delaying, not preventing. Eventually, their luck runs out. “Kansas Supreme Court decreed that their lives must end between midnight and 2: 00 a. m., Wednesday, April 14, 1965.” (Capote 337) Perry Smith, born poor as dirt, met the same end as Lowell Lee Andrews, an upper class college graduate.
Sun, Angela April. "Killing Time" In The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death: Why Systematic Preexecution Delays On Death Row Are Cruel And Unusual." Columbia Law Review 113.6 (2013): 1585-1636. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
Over the years the ways executions are performed have changed significantly to be less gruesome, Though even with these changes capital punishment still remains as inhumane and unconstitutional as it was before and effecting the lives of several people. The eighth amendment holds a strong cases against capital punishment. According to the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library the eighth amendment states “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. When our country allows these executions to continue it is allowing our rights to be trampled, no one deserves to be treated inhumanely. Beyond our constitutional rights being trampled, there has also been an extreme shortage in the three step drugs used in executions due to Pharmaceutical companies not wanting to be part of killing when there sole purpose is to provide to help people survive. That leaves one with the question, if there is a shortage in these drugs how are facilities still administering lethal injections? The answer is simple. “States are now buying drugs from illegal sources, ordering new ones from compounding ph...
In the Time article, “The Death of the Death Penalty”, David Von Drehle addresses the controversial issue of the death penalty. The death penalty in the United States is a declining and flawed method of punishment. The problem of the American death penalty is still an issue in this day and age. Von Drehle compresses the flaws of the death penalty into five simple reasons.
On April 29, a botched death penalty execution in Oklahoma shocked the nation. Clayton Lockett, a 38-year old man, convulsed, writhed, and groaned for an extended period of time as lethal injection was being administered. According to eyewitness accounts, Lockett died from a collapsed vein and a heart attack nearly an hour after the execution began. President Barack Obama even responded to this incident, describing it as “deeply troubling” and calling for a review of the death penalty’s application.
“A Death in Texas” by Steve Earle is the true-life story of a friendship that occurred over ten
“Inside death Row/ At San Quentin”, 647 condemned kills wait to die in the most populous execution antechamber in the United States. Peter Fimrite. S F Gate. Com, Web. 20 Nov. 2005.
The Death Penalty should be discontinued to the families, human rights, and statistics. The families of the victim and the family of the one, who committed the crime, have no closure at all. The death penalty is killing a human for being convicted of a terrible crime one family may think its right but both suffer by their lost ones. “Although true closure is never really possible for the families, studies have shown that the continual process, along with the returning to court for many years, force families to confront the gruesome details of the crime many times over, making it impossible to get on with their lives. As difficult as that is the question is weather the victims needs are met effectively by killing someone else and causing another family grief and pain as well as adding to the cycle of violence.” (Progress) As both families do not want to see each other because they all have pain and hate for one another. They both relive the last memories of their loved one and they can’t help but cry and stare at the pictures they were once happy in. The families both have sadness when its their loved ones birthday. If the victim is married or have kids, their kids suffer and the husband/wife suffer as well. Although the families will never get there loved one back they still suffer on what had happen. Both families blame one another for having to take flowers, to their dead family member or visit their family member in a cemetery because of what happen. None of them is truly happy that they lost a family member. The families miss the person who seemed so happy, and also know that they are in a better place watching over them. Although the families aren’t happy about losing them, but are relieved to know that nothing else can hurt them. As one family feels sorry for the other family, there could be the family that doesn’t care what happens but wants everyone to suffer the way they are suffering about the tragic death of one family member.
Death is a natural part of life that we all have to face one day. The way in which friends and love ones cope during this time is based on their culture or religious belief and their support system. Different religion or culture has different mourning customs which are unique to their own believes. For this project, three religious practices: Christianity, Muslim and Catholic were examined along with their own unique customs and believes. Despite the wide array of differences between each culture, they all believe in life after death and that there is a heaven and a hell.
When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is how the saying goes. Coined by the infamous Hammurabi’s Code around 1700 BC, this ancient expression has become the basis of a great political debate over the past several decades – the death penalty. While the conflict can be whittled down to a matter of morals, a more pragmatic approach shows defendable points that are far more evidence backed. Supporters of the death penalty advocate that it deters crime, provides closure, and is a just punishment for those who choose to take a human life. Those against the death penalty argue that execution is a betrayal of basic human rights, an ineffective crime deterrent, an economically wasteful option, and an outdated method. The debate has experienced varying levels of attention over the years, but has always kept in the eye of the public. While many still advocate for the continued use of capital punishment, the process is not the most cost effective, efficient, consistent, or up-to-date means of punishment that America could be using today.